The Digital Geographies Specialty Group (DGSG) invites submissions for the following research and paper awards, which will be presented at the DGSG Business Meeting at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the AAG, April 16—20 in Honolulu (with a hybrid option for those attending from elsewhere).
Awards
Up to one $250 award will be presented to an outstanding doctoral dissertation.
Up to one $200 award will be presented to an outstanding student paper (graduate or undergraduate) being presented at the 2024 AAG Annual Meeting either in person or virtually.
Up to one $200 award will be presented to the builder(s) of an outstanding software tool, platform, or interactive map/visualization that is aligned with digital geographies.
Up to two $200 research awards will be presented to support current or prospective research focusing on racial justice (broadly construed) and digital geographies. We are particularly interested in supporting work that examines how digital technologies are intertwined with the spatial dimensions of racialized systems of domination across various geographic scales and global contexts and how these technologies can support the work of liberation, equity, and justice.
The awards will be presented to the authors of the best submission(s), as determined by a review panel composed of members of the DGSG board.
Eligibility
Our understanding of what falls within digital geography is intentionally broad. We encourage critical submissions addressing, for example, AI, automation, smart technologies, digital ethnographies, GIS and mapping, data infrastructures, counterdata, citizen science, feminist epistemologies, data sovereignty, spatial media, the sharing or gig economy, and the politics of digitalization and technification. This list, however, is meant to be illustrative, not exhaustive.
The paper awards are limited to current graduate and undergraduate students who are the first (or sole) author of the submitted paper and are presenting at the 2024 Annual Meeting (in an in-person or virtual format). The competition is open to both published and unpublished papers. Undergraduate submissions should be 3,000-4,000 words, and graduate submissions should be 5,000-8,000 words (including e.g., bibliography, notes, figure captions).
The software tool, platform, or interactive map/visualization award is limited to early career and independent scholars (graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, non-tenured faculty, adjunct faculty, independent researchers). Eligible submissions must be for a tool that is publicly available and operational. Applicants need not be registered for the 2024 AAG meeting.
The dissertation award is limited to early career and independent scholars (graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, non-tenured faculty, adjunct faculty, independent researchers). To qualify, the dissertation should have been defended and filed at their respective academic institutions within the last two years. Applicants need not be registered for the 2024 AAG meeting.
The racial justice research awards are limited to early career and independent scholars (graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, non-tenured faculty, adjunct faculty, independent researchers). Applicants need not be registered for the 2024 AAG meeting.
Deadlines
Submissions should be received by Monday, March 25, 2023 by 11:59 PM US Eastern time.
Winners will be notified in early April, announced at the DGSG Business Meeting at the 2024 AAG meeting in Honolulu, and shared with the group email list after the meeting.
Submission
Submissions should be emailed to DGSG Chair, Eric Robsky Huntley (ehuntley@mit.edu) and DGSG Vice-Chair, Ryan Burns (ryan.burns1@ucalgary.ca). Please use the subject line “DGSG Award Submission.” In the body of your email, please include:
- Your full name;
- Your affiliation (university, department, position);
- For paper awards, a link to the submitted AAG abstract for the paper and copies of the submitted work (no need to anonymize your work - this is a single-blind review);
- For dissertation awards, a copy of the submitted work (no need to anonymize your work);
- For software tool, platform, or interactive map/visualization awards, a 200-300 word description of the problem the project was trying to address and what makes the tool well-suited for this award. Applicants are encouraged to submit e.g., GitHub repositories as well.
- For the racial justice research award, a one-page description of the proposed research (400-500 words) and any supporting materials that will help us understand or contextualize the project.
- The name of the competition to which you are submitting (paper, dissertation, software, or racial justice research).
Questions?
Please feel free to contact Eric Robsky Huntley (ehuntley@mit.edu) and Ryan Burns (ryan.burns1@ucalgary.ca) with any questions.