Session Title: Getting the Word Out about Geography:How to Extend your Work Beyond the Academy

Type: Panel Session

Time: 11/6/2020 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) to 3:15 PM

Session Description and Agenda

Raising awareness about the work of geographers starts with you!  Past AAG Presidents have often called for geographers to actively pursue opportunities to highlight their work in venues beyond academic journals. For example, Derek Alderman utilized storytelling as a method to call for increased public communication and broadening publications under his geography is R.E.A.L. initiative, while David Kaplan argued that geographers must start developing alt-ac skills for the growing market. Yet, cultivating a circulation strategy beyond academic journals requires time because we are trained in academic writing and may be unsure of how to translate our work for different outlets or audiences. Students may be interested in pursuing careers where writing for the general public or promoting geographic ideas is a vital component of their daily job duties. This workshop is meant to help you see how to articulate your academic writing across different forms of media. Participants in this workshop, in any stage of their career from students to later career professionals, can expect to: 

1. Familiarize themselves with the growth of alt-metrics and the changing scholarly publication landscape
2. Learn about outlets outside of research journals for promoting their work such as blogs, vlogs, podcasts, social media, invited talks, op-eds, giving press interviews, etc. 
3. Explore the different geographic and demographic audiences of particular media
4. Discuss in small groups experiences with public scholarship 
5. Develop actionable plans to move forward with their own writing agenda
6. Understand funding sources or rewards for disseminating your work beyond academia

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