Students from several institutions play in the GeoBowl. Geography major Peter Scilla '18 won the Bowl and will represent MSDAAG in the World Geography Bowl next spring. /Photo by Annalee Bainnson '19
Over 150 academic and professional geographers from Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania gathered on the Geneseo campus Oct. 20 and 21 for the 2017 Middle States Division of the American Association of Geographers (MSDAAG) conference.
Hosted by the Department of Geography, the conference featured two days of plenary and paper sessions, panel discussions and poster presentations, offering attendees plenty of opportunities to participate and contribute to the exchange and critique of ideas related to the application of geographic concepts, techniques, data and methods.
“The conference was a huge success and set the attendance record for recent years,” said Jim Kernan, associate professor of geography and president of MSDAAG. “It showcased the scholarly wealth of the discipline of geography, and over 100 students attended, broadening their understanding and appreciation for this field. For many students, it was their first academic meeting, and the conference presented them with many opportunities to engage.”
The highlight of the conference was a lunchtime keynote address by Derek H. Alderman, professor of geography at the University of Tennessee and president of the American Association of Geographers. The address was “On Makin’ It REAL: Engaging Geographies of Race, Memory, and Social Justice.” Alderman’s research and teaching specialties include race, public memory, heritage tourism, critical place name study, and the African-American experience — including slavery, the Jim Crow and Civil Rights eras, and more contemporary social and spatial justice campaigns. Alderman lauded the Geneseo-Letchworth Partnership as an exemplar of “Makin' in REAL.”
The conference also provided a range of opportunities for students to participate and contribute to the exchange and critique of ideas through five-minute “lightning talks,” paper competitions and the highly-competitive GeoBowl, a fun and academic competition based on geographic knowledge. SUNY Geneseo geography major Peter Scilla ‘18 was the overall top scorer in the competition and will represent MSDAAG at the World Geography Bowl in New Orleans in April. There were also 14 entries from six different institutions in the poster competition. Geneseo students swept the competition with dual biology/geography major Sam Heraghty ‘18 and geography major Elizabeth Holland '17 tying for first place, and geography major Forest Swaciak ‘18 taking second place.
A regional subdivision of the Association of American Geographers, the MSDAAG serves to advance investigations in geography and to encourage the application of geographic findings in education, government, and business.