The Grand Canyon, arguably the nation’s most recognizable natural wonder, was the topic of the recent Provost Presents Faculty Research talk when Yolonda Youngs, CSUSB professor of geography, presented “Framing Nature: The Creation of an American Icon at the Grand Canyon.”
Youngs discussed her research on the cultural, visual, and social history of the Grand Canyon. Her talk took place on April 22, Earth Day, and took its title from her latest book, “Framing Nature: The Creation of an American Icon at the Grand Canyon.” She explored how visual representations such as postcards, maps and photographs have transformed the Grand Canyon into an iconic symbol of American cultural identity.
The Association of American Geographers recently awarded Youngs with the John Brinkerhoff Jackson Prize, the highest honor in the disciple given to American geographers who write books that “convey the insights of professional geography in language that is both interesting and attractive to lay readers,” according the association’s website.
“Appropriately, her book is beautifully illustrated with many postcard views and historic images, as well as clearly drawn maps of viewpoints,” according the association’s website. “In using postcards as evidence, the committee felt, Youngs reflected J.B. Jackson’s love of American popular culture. ‘Framing Nature’ makes a substantive, informed, and novel contribution to cultural landscape analysis, and informs our understanding of the transformation of one of the world’s greatest natural landscapes into a national and environmental icon.”
Youngs, who joined the CSUSB Department of Geography and Environmental Studies in 2021, has written or co-authored more than 30 journal articles, books, book chapters, and book reviews, scientific reports, and essays featuring her research in sites across the U.S. National Park Service system.
In addition to “Framing Nature,” she wrote edited “The American Environment Revisited: Environmental Historical Geographies of the United States” with Geoffrey Buckley. Her research is funded by the National Science Foundation, U.S. National Park Service, and the Cooperative Ecosystem Services Network, and the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District.
She has received an Apple Distinguished Educator award (national award for digital innovation with tablets from Apple Inc.), Outstanding University Researcher Award (university wide award, Idaho State University), and a Scholar-In-Residence award at University of New Mexico, among others.
Youngs is the current chair of the American Association of Geographers’ Protected Areas Specialty Group, an active member in the U.S. National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, International Geographical Union, and the Royal Geographic Society (with the Institute of British Geographers).
The series is sponsored by CSUSB Libraries, the James R. Watson and Judy Rodriguez Watson College of Education and the Faculty Center for Excellence.
For more information, contact Robie Madrigal at rmadriga@csusb.edu or (909) 537-5144.