The Grand Canyon, arguably the nation’s most recognizable natural wonder, will be the topic of the next Provost Presents Faculty Research talk when Yolonda Youngs, CSUSB professor of geography, presents “Framing Nature: The Creation of an American Icon at the Grand Canyon.” 

Youngs’ talk will take place beginning at noon Tuesday, April 22, in the Faculty Center for Excellence, located in the university’s John M. Pfau Library, room PL-4005. Free and open to the public, registration in advance is recommended and can be done online.

Youngs will discuss her research on the cultural, visual and social history of the Grand Canyon. Her talk, which takes its title from her latest book, will explore how visual representations, such as postcards, maps and photographs, have transformed the Grand Canyon into an iconic symbol of American cultural identity.

The cover of “Framing Nature: The Creation of an American Icon at the Grand Canyon.”
The cover of “Framing Nature: The Creation of an American Icon at the Grand Canyon.”

The Association of American Geographers recently awarded Youngs with the John Brinkerhoff Jackson Prize, the highest honor in the discipline, 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, 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 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, 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 next talk in the Provost Presents Faculty Research Series will take place on April 30 beginning at 1:30 p.m. Hannah Kivalahula-Uddin, assistant professor of educational leadership and technology, will present “Ho‘oponopono to Improve Family Engagement in Academic Programs.” Her presentation takes its title from her most recent book chapter, which will appear in the forthcoming book, “Ancestors-in-Training: Our Legacy as Indigenous Leaders.”

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.