Here is a list and description of all events that the GSAG will be involved in at the 2012 annual meeting, listed in chronological order:

Welcome to the AAG annual meeting! Navigating and making the most of the conference (Zoe Pearson, Ohio State University)
Friday, 2/24, 8:00 – 9:40 AM, Madison Suite, Second Floor, Hilton NY
This panel session will serve as an “orientation” to the meeting, and venue for newcomers to ask questions as well as meet other newcomers to the meeting. Panel participants have diverse experience with the AAG annual meeting. Following introductions the session will proceed with Q&A between the panelists and audience members, to discuss how to make the most of the meeting.

Lessons from the field: reflections on human geography graduate research (Zoe Pearson, Ohio State University; Emily Billo, Syracuse University)
Friday, 2/24, 2:40 – 4:20 PM, Madison Suite, Second Floor, Hilton NY
In this session participants will discuss an issue or challenge they faced – and overcame or worked towards resolving – in doing graduate research. The challenges discussed will be very broad – from reflections on positionality, to how to combine academic research and activism, or the very material problems of finding research respondents. Panelists will discuss issues that provide lessons and reflections broadly relevant to all graduate students doing human geography research.

GSAG plenary session with Dr. Kate Swanson: “How I survived graduate school and landed a tenure-track position (and had a baby)”
Friday, 2/24, 4:40 – 6:20 PM, Madison Suite, Second Floor, Hilton NY
Dr. Kate Swanson will give the GSAG’s plenary lecture, addressing the audience about the challenges of graduate school, making the transition from the life of a student to a faculty member, and a range of other issues pertinent to graduate students in geography and allied fields. The talk will be followed by the GSAG’s first graduate student reception, including beverages.

Africa is not a country: Challenges and opportunities in teaching about Africa I & 2 (Ryan Good, University of Florida; Amelia Dufy-Tumasz, Rutgers University)
Saturday, 2/25, 8:00 – 9:40 AM and 10:00 – 11:40 AM, Carnegie Suite East, Third Floor, Sheraton Hotel
Geography teachers and professors in secondary and higher education confront both the challenge and opportunity to teach courses about the continent of Africa. Student perceptions of the continent are shaped in media and other contexts that create stereotypes, often embellish the negative while ignoring the positive, and misrepresent the complexity of connections and experiences in the African context.  Teaching courses around perceptions, misunderstandings, and lack of basic geographic knowledge about Africa often requires a different set of approaches, ideas, and resources.  This panel series will consider a variety of course contexts that include teaching about Africa. This first of two panels will focus on Africa-specific courses, such as regional geography of Africa or upper level Africa themed courses. Topics covered will include challenges and opportunities around teaching about Africa, lessons from success and failure in past course approaches, resources and ideas for promoting quality future teaching about Africa. The second panel will broaden focus to general courses, such as world regional and human geography courses, and upper-level thematic courses (development, economic, political, urban, human-environment, etc.). Topics covered will include challenges and opportunities around teaching about Africa, lessons from success and failure in past course approaches, resources and ideas for promoting quality future teaching about Africa.

Critical Legal Geographies: Law, Space and Boundaries (Jeffery Gower, SUNY-Buffalo)
Sunday, 2/26, 10:00 – 11:40 AM, Liberty 1, Third Floor, Sheraton Hotel
The intent of this panel is to look at how geographers view how law creates space and the bona fide and fiat borders affect the interaction with that legalized space.

Towards Methods of Possibility I & 2 (Geoffrey Boyce, University of Arizona; Sean Tanner, Rutgers University)
Sunday, 2/26, 2:40 – 4:20 PM and 4:40 – 6:20 PM, Gibson Suite, Second Floor, Hilton NY
This session invites papers that explore how the design, choice, and implementation of methods are informed by social theory. We are mainly interested in social theory that is characteristic of geography’s synthesis with the cultural turn. As graduate students interested in rethinking and renovating the methods toolbox, we hope to gather others who, like us, find that our graduate training prepares us well to engage with complex ideas and philosophical problems, but dedicates much less time in the training of what exactly is to be done with these insights in the design of our research. This session is an opportunity for graduate students to present papers and ideas about methods while in the midst of efforts that methods chapters of dissertations require. Also, educators who have an interest in graduate training and engaging in the questions above will provide valuable insight.

Graduate Student Affinity Group Business Meeting
Sunday, 2/26, 7:30 – 8:30 PM, Green Room, Fourth Floor, Hilton NY

Animal Geographies: Bodies in Motion: Animality, Movement, and the Human-Animal Relationship (II, III, & IV) (Sharon Adams, University of Texas-Austin)
Monday, 2/27, 10:00 – 11:40 AM, 12:40 – 2:20 PM, and 2:40 – 4:20 PM, Conference Room D, Lower Level, Sheraton Hotel
Drawing from current scholarship in critical animal studies, we are inviting contributions for a session exploring the rich connections between animals, movement, and place. This session seeks to examine the complex ways in which the movement of animal bodies (and parts of those bodies) informs human-animal relationships.  The movement of animal bodies through space and amongst places fosters unique sites where human-animal relationships are negotiated, complicated, enacted, performed, and contested.  These movements work across a variety of scales from the global to the local, and encompass a vast arrange of animal species and human interests.  Possible paper topics may include: movements of wildlife species; trafficking of animal bodies; pet trade; animal sport; zoos; livestock and agriculture; biotechnology; animal agency; production and consumption.

Researching and Improving Geography Graduate Education for STEM Careers (Michael Solem, AAG)
Monday, 2/27, 2:40 – 4:20 PM, Green Room, Fourth Floor, Hilton NY
Session Description: This session will present the results of studies conducted by researchers with the AAG’s “Enhancing Departments and Graduate Education (EDGE) in Geography – Phase 2” project. Sponsored by NSF, EDGE-Phase 2 is conducting several studies examining professional development issues for geographers entering STEM careers in business, government, and nonprofit (BGN) organizations.   Presenters in this session will provide an overview of EDGE research findings in the following areas: 1) Workplace climate and professional identity; 2) Issues affecting the work and job performance of geographers in BGN organizations, including needs and opportunities for professional development; 3) Perspectives of employers on the value of geographic expertise, skills and technologies; 4) Approaches to curricula, student advising, and career planning in master’s and doctoral programs. Discussants will share their perspectives of the implications of the EDGE-Phase 2 project for graduate programs, employers, and current and future professionals.

Getting Your First Academic Job (David Parr, Texas State University, San Marcos; Joy Adams, AAG)
Monday, 2/27, 2:40 – 4:20 PM, Madison Suite, Second Floor, Hilton NY
What should graduate students do to prepare themselves for a career in academic geography? What can they do to be competitive in the academic job market?  Becoming an academic geographer may seem a daunting task, often laden with concerns about how to spend limited time and energy to prepare for applications and interviews.  This panel session will bring together established academic geographers, recent hires and graduate students to discuss professional development for graduate students seeking a career in higher education.  The panel will be composed of academics experienced in the job hiring process and PhDs who have been recently hired.  The panel will consider issues such as transitioning from graduate student to faculty, negotiating the international workplace, finding jobs for a dual academic family, and balancing work-life issues. Further discussion will include what to do to enhance employability and surviving a tightening job market.

The Academic Job Market for Geographers (Joy Adams, AAG; Sarah Siegel, AAG)
Monday, 2/27, 4:40 – 6:20 PM, Madison Suite, Second Floor, Hilton NY
This panel will address key issues affecting academic career opportunities for geographers and improving their preparation for employment in higher education. Session chairs will lead the panelists in a structured discussion of the following questions: 1) What are some of the important trends that are likely to have an impact on the careers of academic geographers, especially early-career faculty and job seekers?  For example, how are the current recession and the retirement of the baby boomers affecting the hiring and retention of geography faculty?; 2) How can academic departments improve the preparation of future faculty with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives they will need for a successful career in higher education?; 3) Which geographic subdisciplines and skills are in highest demand within higher education? What trends can we expect to see in geography faculty hires over the next 10 years?; 4) How do faculty careers and career opportunities for geographers differ among types of institutions, settings, and appointments?; 5) How can academic job seekers enhance their competitiveness in a tight job market? ; 6) What are some of the alternatives to a traditional faculty career for Ph.D. geographers?