Wednesday, November 17, 2010

GAGS alumnus give talks at UT Geography and The Environment

Dr. Je-Hun Ryu (Ph.D. Texas Geography 1987) visited his alma mater to present research and catch up with colleagues.  He is currently on the faculty of the Department of Geography, Korea National University of Education.

He presented his talk to current graduate students and faculty under the title “Contested Identities in Postcolonial Incheon, South Korea.”   The talk focused on how Incheon City (the gateway to Seoul through its airport and seaport) still preserves relic landscapes/places reflecting pre-colonial, colonial, and post-colonial processes.


Dr. Ryu spoke of the old downtown area, which originated from a concession settlement (1884), and then turned into a colonial city after the Japanese annexation (1910).  During the Korean War (1950-52), however, it became a site for American marine forces to operate their landing action.  From the mid-1960s, the city began to grow rapidly along with expanding manufacturing zones.  Since the opening of the largest international airport in Korea (2001), it has launched a series of development plans to build up a global city.  It is, therefore, possible to locate in the city landscapes that record (or commemorate) each of these historical stages.

Dr. Ryu examined past and present discourses of identity, concluding that multiple/divided identities have always been characteristic of Incheon in the Korean national context. After the talk, he engaged in discussion of research in the new cultural geography and Asian Studies with interested graduate students.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Ingrid Haeckel recieves award for Best Presentation


Ingrid Haeckel, a Doctoral Student in the Department of Geography and The Environment, received the Best Presentation Award at this years SCCS-NY Symposium, the Student Conference on Conservation Science in New York City. The symposium specifically targets those pursuing or considering a profession in conservation science.  SCCS-NY is a unique opportunity for those beginning their careers to present their work before established leaders in science, policy, and management.


Haeckel's presentation titled, Sustaining the Religious Bromeliad Harvest in Central Mexico, presented her research on the sustainability of traditional plant harvesting practices for religious customs in central Mexico.  Her research seeks to understand the challenges to endangered species conservation in a a cultural context.  She presented results from her recent field work, in which she empirically assessed the impact of harvesting the epiphytic bromeliads, a valuable ornamental plant.

http://symposia.cbc.amnh.org/sccsny/

Ingrid Haeckel's Profile

Sharon Wilcox Adams named Resident Scholar at Smithsonian Institution



Sharon Wilcox Adams has been named a Baird Society Resident Scholar at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries in Washington, DC.  During her tenure at the Smithsonian in the Spring 2011, she will be working in the SI Libraries? most unique and valuable holdings: its Special Collections. Her research will focus in James Smithson's personal materials and rare 19th century natural history volumes in the famed Cullman Library.  This research is part of Sharon's dissertation project, "Encountering El Tigre: Jaguars and People in the United States, 1800-2010."

Thursday, November 4, 2010

SWAAG Pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/kathleenshafer/SWAAG2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCLnp38u0u_KZaA#

Getting Outside Grants for Your Research: What COLA's Grants Services Office Can Do For You

November 15, 7-8 pm GRG 408

Kristin Weidman and Jeff Meserve, staff of Grants Services at the College of Liberal Arts Dean's Office, will discuss proposal writing and how the Grants Services Office can help geography graduate students.  The talk will refer to the attached article by Christina Gillis which is useful background reading.