How the other half lives: the geographical study of women

Abstract

In recent years there has been a growing presence of the practitioners of geography, the so-called applied geographers, in the convention. More and more time is spent trying to determine how the AAG may relate more effectively to this clientele. The decline in the membership of the AAG reported during the business meeting adds some urgency to the discussions of this issue. Most observers believe that during the next few years the chief issue in the sociology of geography in the USA will be how well the AAG, an organization for academic geographers, will accommodate the needs and demands of the geographers working outside academia. Like all other conventions this was a gathering of talkers. A time when old acquain tances are renewed and experiences exchanged. A time when successful graduate students can vicariously return home. The Grand Alumni Cocktail party was a glorious hubbub of chatter and serious conversation. At the end of all the sessions, field trips, conferences and job interviews, the individuals returned to their separate homes feeling part of an academic tribe and, one hopes, with renewed enthusiasm for the discipline. David A. Lanegran Macalester College