For grade school teachers - FOCUS on Geography offers readings and facts as background for lesson-plan development on such timely and timeless topics as: "Markets, Bazaars and Suqs" by Stewart McHenry (43/2); "The Pacific Islands: A New Geography" by Robert J. Sager (38/2); "China's Silk Roads: A Modern Journey to China's Western Regions" by R.W. McColl (41/2); "The Otogar is the Way to Go: By Bus Through Turkey" by Donald F. Lynch (44/4) - and many more, available through a search of the FOCUS Index -- see below. Also see below for information on Teacher Liaison and Geographical Alliance orders.

  For junior-high and high-school teachers and students - FOCUS on Geography offers issues devoted to one country and special "in-depth" sections that can be used by teachers and students. For example: "Living With and Teaching About the Glaciated Landscape" (46/1); "Living With and Teaching About Karst" (45/2); "Brazil" by Brian J. Godfrey (45/4); "Scotland" by Alistair Cruickshank and Richard V. Smith (46/2); "Greece" forthcoming, by Stewart McHenry (46/4). Other Special Theme Sections are listed below. Also see below for information on Teacher Liaison and Geographical Alliance orders.

  For university and community-college students, researchers, and teachers - FOCUS on Geography articles provide fifty years of perspectives and data from prominent geographers on the issues and places that shape our Earth. Recent examples include "Impressions of a New South Africa" by Alan Lester (45/2); "Indian Gaming in the United States: Distribution, Significance, and Trends" by Dick G. Winchell, John F. Lounsbury and Lawrence M. Sommers (44/4); "The Great Flood of '93" in three parts, by David H. Hickcox (v.43); "Sun, Fun and a Rum Deal: Perspectives on Development in the Caribbean" by Robert B. Potter and Sally Lloyd-Evans (44/4); "Women Travellers at Fins de Siecles" by Briavel Holcomb (43/4); and many more.

FOCUS THROUGH THE DECADES

    With its inception in 1950, and into the 1960s, FOCUS editor Alice Taylor engaged prominent geographers to summarize their understanding of a country's complexities, or of an important geopolitical issue of that era, into a newsletter format. These fact-packed, insightful overviews were edited for a wide, general audience.   During the 1960s, the eight-page format proved flexible enough to allow each issue to contain two or three short, sharp reports or commentaries, accompanied by superb maps.  The complexity of the geographer's understanding began to shine through during the 1970s, an era which featured whole-issue articles on the problems and processes facing a rapidly changing world.  By the mid-1980s, FOCUS had become a full-color magazine with numerous articles and departments, written and edited by professional geographers intent on communicating geographical perspectives to the general reader. Today's FOCUS on Geography alternates general issues containing numerous articles on a variety of topics with theme issues devoted to a special topic and issues devoted to a single country. Sample issue contents are provided below for each era.   The full listing of the FOCUS archive is available in the FOCUS Index, discussed below. FOCUS compilations are planned, based on countries, themes, authors and issues.

FOCUS in the 1950s:"Resources of the Tropics: I - Africa" by George Kimble (Volume III, No. 4, December, 1952).

FOCUS in the 1960s:"U.S.S.R. Resources for Heavy Industry" by Chauncy D. Harris; "Changing Resource Policies of the U.S.S.R." and "Akademgorodok" by Theodore Shabad (Volume XIX, No. 6, February 1969).

FOCUS in the 1970s:"Population Pressures in Bangladesh" by Ashok K. Dutt and Nawajesh Ahmed; "Development Through Restraints on Material Growth" by Emile Benoit (Volume XXV Nos. 3 and 4, November - December 1974).

FOCUS from the mid-1980s to 2001: Special Theme Issues (several articles on one topic): "The Gulf War" - articles by Rubenstein; Chatfield and O'Connell; Cohen; Cutter (Volume 41, No.2) "China" - articles by Andrus; Chu; Toops; Hussey; Hsu; Jowett; Eichen and Ming; Ryan; Veeck; McColl and Guangbo; de Blij (Volume 42, No. 1) "Hurricanes" - articles by Lee and Roberts; Hickcox; Harden and Pulsipher (Volume 42, No. 2) "The Buffalo Commons Debate" - articles by Roebuck; DeBres, Kromm and White; Wallach; Popper and Popper (Volume 43, No. 4) "Hong Kong" - articles by Chu, Ginsburg (reprinted from 1953), Cartier, Boorstein, Ghosheh; Websites and readings (Volume 44, No.3) "Living With and Teaching About Karst" - articles by Lineback; Kerski; LaMoreaux and LaMoreaux; Organizations to contact for teaching and field trips (Volume 45, No.2) "Living With and Teaching About the Glaciated Landscape" articles by Miller; Hayes-Bohanan; Kerski; Lineback; References, guidebooks, websites, and lesson plans (Volume 46, No. 1).

      Country Issues (an occasional series in which the entire issue is devoted to a single country): "Brazil" - Brian Godfrey, 2000; "Scotland" - Alistair Cruickshank and Richard V. Smith (Vol. 46(2), Winter 2001); "Greece" - Stewart McHenry, (Vol. 47(3) Spring 2003).   Please see the "Publications" listing on this site for information about six additional countries written to the same content outline and published in small-book format during the mid-1990s.

FOCUS-RELATED PUBLICATIONS AND PROGRAMS

The FOCUS Index: The FOCUS Index was compiled, and is regularly updated, by AGS staffer James Thomas.   It includes an introduction and preface by James Thomas and Hilary Lambert Hopper.  This publication lists FOCUS articles chronologically and by title, author, and department. Geographic themes include population, economic, tourism, resources, environmental, cultural, country, regional, physical, teaching, place. There are numerous articles by Harm de Blij on wines ("A Votre Sante"); and by Bret Wallach ("Geographer's Journal"). In addition to feature articles and special themes, departments include "Words in FOCUS," "The Seventh Sense," "Weatherwise," "Geography in the News," "The Urban Naturalist," "Destination," "Geographer's Bookshelf," and "Geography and Teaching."

      FOCUS Index ordering information -- see below.

The McColl Family Fellowship: Inaugurated during 1999, the McColl Family Fellowship provides a stipend annually for travel to a field area for geographic research. The winners must submit a FOCUS article about their research experience and results. The 2000 recipient was Dr. Joseph J. Hobbs. His article "People and Caves in Madagascar" appears in FOCUS on Geography Volume 46(4), published in mid-2001. The 2001 recipient is Dr. Kendra McSweeny, who will use her award for travel to Honduras to assess the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. For more information about this program, contact the American Geographical Society office in New York City at the address listed at the bottom of this page.