CLA: Geography

"The Portage: Reflections on Nature, History, and Storytelling in the Making of an American Place"

In a lecture based on the opening chapter of the book he is writing on the history of Portage, Wisconsin, environmental historian William Cronon meditates on the role of memory and storytelling in the complicated ways human beings construct their individual and collective sense of place. A natural ecosystem or an abstract geographical space becomes a human place, he argues, through the endless accretion of narratives that render that place meaningful for those who visit or live in it. Portage is an especially interesting community in which to explore this idea, since it was the home town of Frederick Jackson Turner, the American historian who authored the famous "frontier thesis." It was also the town into whose hinterland John Muir migrated as an eleven-year-old boy from Scotland, and the town where Aldo Leopold's "Shack," famed subject of the book A Sand County Almanac, is located. Although virtually unknown to most Americans, few places have played so central a role in shaping our national ideas of nature.

William J. Cronon is the Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas Research Professor of History, Geography, and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He will be delivering a lecture based on his book project about the environmental history and historical geography of Portage, Wisconsin. He is a Past President of the American Historical Association and author of Changes in the Land and Nature's Metropolis. The lecture will last for about 90 minutes and will take place in Honeywell Auditorium (L-110) in the Carlson School starting at 3:30 on Friday, May 3.

Complimentary refreshments and coffee will be served at 3:10 PM. In addition, there will be a reception for alumni and their guests in the Carlson Private Dining Room immediately following the lecture.

William J. Cronon's visit and talk co-sponsored by the Department of History and the Institute for Advanced Study, UMN.

Professor Fraser Hart was featured in a story on KARE 11. Click here for a great story on his ongoing career!

Jerry Shannon has accepted a three year position as a temporary assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Georgia. Jerry is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the department and expects to complete his degree this summer. His research reframes current work on urban "food deserts" by investigating the factors that shape the food procurement of low-income individuals, using both data on food stamp usage and case studies of two Minneapolis neighborhoods. More information on this research is available on his professional website.

This August 2013, Christopher will start a NASA Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He will collaborate with Dorothy Hall, NASA Senior Research Scientist on the project "Monitoring Climate-Driven Changes in Mountain Snowpack Extent across the Western United States: A Multi-sensor Approach to Climate Data Record Development using Landsat, MODIS, and VIIRS".

Learn more about Christopher at http://z.umn.edu/cjcrawford

Abdi Samatar, Professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Society has been elected President of the African Studies Association. Dr. Samatar began his tenure as President in November of 2012. More on the African Studies Association here.

GES Associate Professor Francis Harvey became Chair of the Geographic Information Science Commission at the International Geographical Union in August 2012. The mission of the Commission on Geographic Information Science (GISc) is to advance the study of geographical information science internationally, and to enhance the role and contributions of geographers in the development of Geographic Information Science and of Geographic Information Science in the development of geography. Learn more about the Commission and the IGU here.

St. Paul, Minn. - Macalester College has granted tenure status to Laura Smith, associate professor of Geography in the Geography Department. Smith received her PhD and MA from the University of Minnesota and her BA from Macalester College. She joined the Macalester faculty in 2004 as an assistant professor.

St. Paul, Minn. - Macalester College has granted tenure status to Daniel Trudeau, associate professor of Geography in the Geography Department. Trudeau, an urban social geographer whose research examines urban political economy, cultural landscapes, and social justice, received his PhD from the University of Colorado, Boulder, his MA from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his BA from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He joined the Macalester faculty in 2006 as an assistant professor.