Recognizing the role of gender, class, sexuality, and race in the organization of our everyday lives, Supporting Women in Geography (SWIG) aims to promote and empower individuals within geography by offering a supportive network that sponsors opportunities to grow professionally, intellectually, and personally. Penn State's SWIG organization invites undergraduate and graduate students from all institutions and disciplines to contribute to our ongoing efforts and conversations and submit to our fourth annual essay and creative works competition.
This paper competition draws inspiration from the following quote by Professor Gillian Rose:
"I think one of geography's greatest strengths – one if its greatest pleasures – as a discipline, is the way that it gathers together very different talents and skills, and puts them to work together in the task of understanding the world we all share." – Professor Gillian Rose, acceptance speech at the 2012 Royal Geographical Society Medals and Awards ceremony
SWIG encourages responses to this quote that address how your research and scholarship brings together various methodologies, ontologies and epistemologies, and disciplines. We encourage you to consider how bringing these often different perspectives together has helped you grow and transform as geographers and make an impact. Example topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Work as a scholar – activist
- Creative use of methods or creative methods in scholarship
- Inter- and trans- disciplinary work
- Areas of improvement for geographers to bring together different talents and skills
- And more!
We welcome contributions from current undergraduate and graduate students, irrespective of academic institution or discipline. Although written essay submissions are limited to 1,000 words (excluding references and short abstract), we encourage contributors to express their thoughts using other mediums as well, including, but not limited to: maps, diagrams, photography, creative writing and poetry, film, drawing, and painting. Every submission, whether textual or visual, should include a 100-word abstract that indicates how the entry addresses the intent of the CFP.
Award winners will receive $100. Awards will be presented at SWIG's conference panel on Reflecting on the past and future of Supporting Women in Geography at the 2018 AAG in New Orleans. Though you must be present at the conference to receive the award, participation in the conference is not required. With the author's permission, submissions will be made public on Penn State SWIG's website. We envision the public presentation of submissions to provoke discussion and questions about what support in academia looks like, and how it is and/or could be experienced.
Please submit all projects at SWIG's website: sites.psu.edu/swig/... Please direct all questions to Lauren Fritzsche LUF7@psu.edu. Deadline for submission is March 23, 2018.
