Field trip during the Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting

Sign illustrating that AAG partners with other organizations

The American Association of Geographers (AAG) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

scientific and educational society aimed at advancing the understanding, study, and importance of

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

and related fields. Its headquarters is located in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The organization was founded on December 29, 1904, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, as the Association of American Geographers, with the American Society of Professional Geographers later amalgamating into it in December 1948 in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. As of 2020, the association has more than 10,000 members, from nearly 100 countries. AAG members are geographers and related professionals who work in the public, private, and academic sectors. In 2016, AAG President Dr. Sarah Witham Bednarz announced in the ''AAG Newsletter'': "Effective January 1, 2016, the AAG will begin to operate under the name "American Association of Geographers", rather than "Association of American Geographers... in an effort to re-think our systems of representation to acknowledge our growing internationalism." Spearheaded under the presidency of geography professor

Eric Sheppard Eric Sheppard (born 1 October 1950) is a British and American geographer, and Professor of Economic geography at UCLA. Background Sheppard grew up in Cambridge, England and studied geography at the University of Bristol under Peter Haggett (g ...

(

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, formerly

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

), the name change reflects the US-based organization's diversity and inclusion of non-American members and participants.

Publications

The ''

Annals of the American Association of Geographers The ''Annals of the American Association of Geographers''"AAG Newsletter January 2016."
'AAG ...

'' and ''

The Professional Geographer ''The Professional Geographer'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal publishing short articles on all aspects of geography. The journal is published by Taylor and Francis on behalf of the American Association of Geographers. According to t ...

'' are the association's flagship journals. Additional journals published by the organization include the ''AAG Review of Books'', ''GeoHumanities'', and ''

African Geographical Review The ''African Geographical Review'' is a biannual peer-reviewed academic journal published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the American Association of Geographers' Africa Specialty Group. The journal was originally established in 1963 at Makerere ...

''. The AAG also publishes a monthly newsletter that contains reflections on programs and issues of concern in society of a geographic nature, a jobs column, and accomplishments and innovations of AAG members. The AAG additionally publishes the ''Guide to Geography Programs in the Americas'', a description of programs in higher education in North and South America that offer a geography degree, a geography certificate program, and/or geography courses. Another publication is ''

Earth Interactions ''Earth Interactions (EI)'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Meteorological Society, American Geophysical Union, and Association of American Geographers. ''EI'' publishes research on the interactions among the atmosp ...

''.

Specialty groups

The AAG has more than 80 specialty or affinity groups, voluntary associations of AAG members who share interests in regions or topics. Specialty groups have long provided a way for geographers with specific interests to collaborate and communicate, including organizing and sponsoring sessions at the annual meeting as well as granting awards to their members. The AAG also offers Knowledge Communities, a set of online tools for collaboration.

Annual meetings

Since its founding in 1904, the AAG has held an annual meeting for the geography community. In recent years, this conference has attracted between 7,000 and 9,000 attendees. The annual meeting offers upwards of 4,000 papers and presentations on topics as diverse as soil moisture, climate change, population dynamics, political instability, sustainable agriculture, natural hazards, urban landscapes, geography and militarism, and technologies such as

geographic information system A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...

s. Hands-on workshops on methods and technological tools are an important part of these meetings. The annual meetings also offer an extensive exhibit hall featuring publishers, technology companies, universities, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. Field trips are offered in the diverse locations that these conferences are held. The Annual Meetings are held in February, March, or April each year for four to five days. In recent years, the meetings have been held virtually (2020, 2021, and 2022) and in person in DC (2019), New Orleans (2018), Boston (2017), San Francisco (2016), Chicago (2015), Tampa (2014), Los Angeles (2013), New York (2012), and Seattle (2011). The AAG also sponsors fall meetings based within each regional divisions of the organization. These regional divisions are groupings of several states in the United States, and include, Pacific Coast, Great Plains/Rocky Mountains, Southwest, West Lakes, East Lakes, Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, Middle States, and New England/St. Lawrence Valley.

Partnerships

To effectively advance geography in society requires partnerships. The AAG has a long history of fruitful partnerships with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private industry. These include the

National Council for Geographic Education The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE), chartered in 1915, is a non-profit scientific and educational society in the United States that promotes and supports geography education. Annual conference NCGE holds an annual conference ...

, the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

, the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

, the

American Geosciences Institute The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) is a nonprofit federation of about 50 geoscientific and professional organizations that represents geologists, geophysicists, and other earth scientists. The organization was founded in 1948. The name of ...

and others.

Awards

The James R. Anderson Medal of Honor (the Anderson Medal) is awarded by the AAG Applied Geography Specialty Group to recognise highly distinguished service to the profession of geography in the field of industry, government, literature, education, research, service to the profession, or public service. It is named for James R. Anderson, the third chief geographer of the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

. The G. K. Gilbert Award for Excellence in Geomorphological Research (not to be confused with the G. K. Gilbert Award given by the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...

), is presented to the author(s) of a single significant contribution to the published research literature in

geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

. AAG also issues an annual award to a university geography program that is helping advance the field of geography. It also has a series of awards for significant books about geography, the John Brinckerhoff Jackson Prize, the AAG Globe Book Award for Public Understanding of Geography, and the AAG Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Work in Geography.

Presidents

^†died during his tenure

References

Notes

External links

*
AAG YouTube Channel

AAG Knowledge Communities

National Council for Geographic Education

Archives of the AAG held at the AGS Library, UW Milwaukee
{{Authority control 1904 establishments in Pennsylvania Geographic societies Scientific societies based in the United States Organizations established in 1904 Professional associations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Geographic data and information organizations in the United States

Publications

Specialty groups

Annual meetings

Partnerships

Awards

Presidents

See also

References

Notes

Further reading

External links