The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Geography Season

The best time of the year is upon us. Not Autumn (although crisp chill air, falling leaves, and apple picking are pretty awesome). And I don’t mean the winter holiday season, either.

No, I’m talking about Geography Season. If you’re only learning about Geography Season now, that might be because I think I just coined the phrase. But hear me out. November is when many of the best geography things happen. 

First of all, November 1st marks the first day of the 30 Day Map Challenge. The map challenge is great. Created by Topi Tjukanov, the Map Challenge is a collective, community-driven mapping activity, where map-makers of varying experience and backgrounds create and share maps across social media platforms. The Challenge is organized around a set of prompts, one for each day of November. For example, November 1st is points. November 18th, though, is “Out of This World.” I’ve never completed all 30 days. I’m also not a cartographer and even my best map is nothing compared to the amazing creations that others put together. But it’s a fantastic opportunity to brush up on old skills, think about fun new data, and learn some new stuff. Best of all, it’s a fantastic community activity.

Geography Season has even more to offer. We also have Geography Awareness Week from November 17–21. Being aware of your surroundings and location is a 365-day a year sort of thing. Geography Awareness Week is more about building understanding of the important roles of space, place, location, and mapping in our everyday lives. 

Lastly, on November 19, CGA—along with lots of others around the world—will celebrate GIS Day. For us, GIS Day brings an afternoon of social networking, workshops, posters, snacks, and swag. Join us 3–5pm to learn more about CGA, the Harvard Map Collection, and the Graduate School of Design, and how we can support your spatial research and training. Stay for our and our GIS Day Lecture, this year given by John Logan, Department of Sociology, Brown University. Professor Logan will be sharing new collaborative research with Rachel McKane and H. Jacob Carlonson on, “The Role of Race in Private and Public Redlining in the 1930s.” We look forward to welcoming old friends and new on the 19th!

Happy Geography Season!

Rachel Franklin