Society information

The Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography (SSAG) was founded under its present name in 1878, as an extension of the activities of the Association for Anthropology founded in 1873. This was a time of great exploratory expeditions, and the SSAG took a particularly active part in the scientific description of the Arctic region, highlighted by the ‘Vega’ voyage through the passage north of Siberia led by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld in 1878-1879.

For present activities and initiatives SSAG strives to be relevant and contemporary as a way to build further on its 140 years legacy. Over the last years SSAG has hosted public lectures and also organized panels at international conferences. SSAG collaborates with anthropological and geographical associations nationally and internationally. SSAG is open to all – students, lecturers, researchers, professionals working outside the academia, the general public interested in anthropology and geography.

SSAGs award the Society’s medals to scholars for research achievements. The most prestigious award is celebrated through an annual symposium at the Vega day, April 24, for which the topic and invited speakers are chosen by the medalist. The medalists in Human Geography since 2000 has been Erik Bylund (2001), Doreen Massey (2004), Gunnar Törnqvist (2007), Allen Scott (2009), Don Mitchell (2012), and Lesley Head (2015).
SSAG publishes a yearbook (YMER) and two international journals. Geografiska Annaler, Series A, Physical Geography; and Geografiska Annaler, Series B, Human Geography. Geografiska Annaler was inaugurated as a joint journal in 1919, and has been divided into two series since 1965. In 2018 volume 100 of Geografiska Annaler will be published.

More information on SSAG is available through http://ssag.se/