Latin American Studies Association

Last updated
Latin American Studies Association
AbbreviationLASA
Formation1966
Type Learned Society
Headquarters Pittsburgh, United States
Website lasa.international.pitt.edu

The Latin American Studies Association (LASA) is the largest association for scholars of Latin American studies. Founded in 1966, [1] it has over 12,000 members, 45 percent of whom reside outside the United States (36 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean), LASA brings together experts on Latin America from all disciplines and diverse occupational endeavors, across the globe. [2]

Contents

History

LASA was founded in 1966 following a meeting sponsored by the Joint Committee on Latin American Studies (composed of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), held at the Hispanic Foundation (now the Hispanic Division) of the Library of Congress, May 7, 1966. LASA's constitution and bylaws were drafted and on May 12, 1966 it was incorporated in Washington, D.C., as a legal, tax exempt organization, "non-profit professional body created by scholarly area specialists to meet their particular and growing needs." [3] The incorporation of the LASA was the culmination of a long process to create such an organization after the failure of a previous attempt. In April 1958, Howard F. Cline, Director of the Hispanic Foundation of the Library of Congress (1952–71) and the ACLS organized a conference to explore the creation of a coordinating body for Latin American area studies. In 1959, the ACLS and the SSRC formed the Joint Committee on Latin American Studies, which ultimately led to the founding of LASA as an organization. [4] The Constitution and Bylaws of the Latin American Studies Association were published in the Latin American Research Review in 1966. [5] LASA's first President after its 1966 incorporation was political scientist Kalman Silvert, who published extensively on Latin American political systems and conflict. [6] LASA honors Silvert's memory with a major prize.

Mission

LASA's mission is "to foster intellectual discussion, research, and teaching on Latin America, the Caribbean, and its people throughout the Americas, promote the interests of its diverse membership, and encourage civic engagement through network building and public debate." [2]

LASA Congresses

Every year, specialists on Latin America gather at the LASA International Congress. Featuring over 900 sessions, including plenary sessions and informal meetings, the Congress is the world's premier forum for expert discussion on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Regional Subgroups

At the 1992 LASA Congress in Los Angeles, scholars specializing in Brazil founded the Brazilian Studies Association (BRASA). [8] BRASA now holds independent biennial meetings. [8]

LASA Presidents

Awards

Publishing

LASA publishes an interdisciplinary scholarly journal, the Latin American Research Review (LARR) founded in 1965 by a consortium of U.S. universities. [18] LARR is an interdisciplinary journal that publishes original research and surveys of current research on Latin America and the Caribbean.

LASA has established a publishing house, the Latin American Research Commons, that publishes LARR and other books and journals. [19]

Related Research Articles

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a range of opportunities for scholars in the humanities and related social sciences at all career stages, from graduate students to distinguished professors to independent scholars, working with a number of disciplines and methodologies in the U.S. and abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social Science Research Council</span> American nonprofit social science research organization

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) is a US-based, independent, international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research in the social sciences and related disciplines. Established in Manhattan in 1923, it maintains a headquarters in Brooklyn Heights with a staff of approximately 70, and small regional offices in other parts of the world.

Latin American studies (LAS) is an academic and research field associated with the study of Latin America. The interdisciplinary study is a subfield of area studies, and can be composed of numerous disciplines such as economics, sociology, history, international relations, political science, geography, cultural studies, gender studies, and literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guillermo O'Donnell</span> Argentine political scientist (1936–2011)

Guillermo Alberto O'Donnell Ure was a prominent Argentine political scientist who specialized in comparative politics and Latin American politics. He spent most of his career working in Argentina and the United States, and who made lasting contributions to theorizing on authoritarianism and democratization, democracy and the state, and the politics of Latin America. His brother is Pacho O'Donnell.

Jean Franco was a British-born American academic and literary critic known for her pioneering work on Latin American literature. Educated at Manchester and London, she taught at London, Essex, and Stanford, and was latterly professor emerita at Columbia University.

Federico Guillermo Gil was a political scientist and founder and president of the Latin American Studies Association and a recipient of its Kalman Silvert Award for outstanding lifetime service to Latin American studies.

Alfred C. Stepan was an American political scientist specializing in comparative politics and Latin American politics. He was the Wallace S. Sayre Professor of Government at Columbia University, where he was also director of the Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion. He is known for his comparative politics research on the military, state institutions, democratization, and democracy.

The Kalman H. Silvert Award was created in honor of the first president of the Latin American Studies Association. Given every 18 months, the Silvert Award "recognizes senior members of the profession who have made distinguished lifetime contributions to the study of Latin America."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Shifter</span>

Michael E. Shifter is president of the Inter-American Dialogue and an adjunct professor of Latin American studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and writes for the council's journal Foreign Affairs. He is also a member of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), and a contributing editor to Current History.

Lewis Hanke was an American historian of colonial Latin America best known for his writings on the Spanish conquest of Latin America. Hanke presented a revisionist narrative of colonial history that focused on the role of Bartolomé de las Casas, who famously advocated for the rights of Native Americans, and searched for just resolutions to the tensions between the conquistadores and the natives during the colonial period of Spanish rule. Hanke's writings documented Las Casas' work as a political activist, historian, political theorist, and anthropologist. His scholarship also uncovered evidence to support Hanke's claim that Las Casas did not act as the sole voice of conscience during the colonial era, but actually constituted the head of what was a larger reform movement by a number of Spanish colonists to prevent "the destruction of the Indies.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudia Paz y Paz</span>

Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey is a Guatemalan attorney who served as the first female attorney general of Guatemala, from 2010 to 2014. A former judge and litigator, Paz y Paz made unprecedented strides in the prosecution of organized crime, corruption, and human rights violations.

The Latin American Research Review is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on Latin America and the Caribbean. It was established in 1965 by the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) and is published by LASA's publishing arm, the Latin America Research Commons. The editor-in-chief is Carmen Martinez Novo. Articles are published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese. The journal articles are published only electronically, in an Open Access format.

Conference on Latin American History, (CLAH), founded in 1926, is the professional organization of Latin American historians affiliated with the American Historical Association. It publishes the journal The Hispanic American Historical Review.

Kalman H. Silvert, was an author of works on democracy in Latin America, the first president of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), and professor of political science at Tulane University, NYU, and other universities. The Kalman Silvert Award is LASA's highest award.

Howard F. Cline was an American government official and historian, specializing in Latin America. Cline served as Director of the Hispanic Foundation at the Library of Congress from 1952 until his death in June 1971. He was one of the founders of the Latin American Studies Association. He was also active in the Conference on Latin American History (CLAH), the professional organization of Latin American historians, which he chaired in 1964. He is still highly regarded as a scholar "devoted to and effective in the promotion of Latin American studies in the United States."

Helen M. Icken Safa was an anthropologist, feminist scholar and academic. Safa focused her work on Latin American studies and she served as president of the Latin American Studies Association from 1983 to 1985. She taught anthropology and Latin American studies at Syracuse University, Rutgers University and the University of Florida. She received the Silvert Award, the highest honor given by the Latin American Studies Association.

Marysa Navarro Aranguren is a Spanish-American historian specializing in the history of feminism, the history of Latin American women, and the history of Latin America. She occupies a prominent role as a promoter and activist in the areas of women's studies and women's history. Navarro is an expert on the figure of Eva Perón, having published her biography, and having written articles about her. Navarro lives in the United States, and has dual citizenship, Spanish and U.S.

Carmen Diana Deere is an American feminist economist who is an expert on land policy and agrarian reform, rural social movements, and gender in Latin American development. Deere is Professor Emeritus of Latin American studies and Food Resources Economics at the University of Florida and Professor Emeritus of FLACSO-Ecuador. She was honored with the Silvert Award in 2018.

Gilbert M. Joseph is an American scholar and writer. He received his doctorate from Yale University in Latin American history in 1978, where he is presently a Farnam Professor Emeritus of History and International Studies. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Sturgis Leavitt Best Article Prize (1981,1987), the Tanner Award for Inspirational Teaching of Undergraduates at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1980), and the Harwood F.Byrnes/Richard B. Sewall Prize for Teaching Excellence at Yale University (2017). Joseph presided over the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) from 2015 to 2016.

<i>Latin American Perspectives</i> Academic journal

Latin American Perspectives is a peer-reviewed academic journal associated with the University of California, Riverside that focuses on Latin American studies regarding capitalism, imperialism, socialism and their relation to political economy.

References

  1. ↑ American Council of Learned Societies, Latin American Studies Association
  2. 1 2 LASA, About LASA
  3. ↑ Howard F. Cline, "The Latin American Studies Association: A Summary Survey with Appendix," Latin American Research Review, Vol. 2. No. 1 (Autumn 1966), pp. 57-79.
  4. ↑ Cline, ibid.
  5. ↑ Howard F. Cline, "Latin American Studies Association: A Summary Survey with Appendix," Latin American Research Review, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Autumn 1966) pp. 75-79.
  6. ↑ Kalman H. Silvert, obituary. New York Times, June 17, 1976, p. 38.
  7. ↑ "LASA2024 / Reacción y resistencia: Imaginar futuros posibles en las Américas". Latin American Studies Association (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  8. 1 2 "BRASA History – BRASA: Brazilian Studies Association" . Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  9. ↑ "LASA Membership of Jorge Dominguez Revoked" LASA Forum accessed 30 July 2020
  10. ↑ LASA
  11. ↑ LASA
  12. ↑ [LASA,
  13. ↑ LASA
  14. ↑ LASA
  15. ↑ LASA
  16. ↑ LASA, Latin American International Relations Book Award
  17. ↑ "LASA2020 / Améfrica Ladina: Vinculando Mundos y Saberes, Tejiendo Esperanzas".
  18. ↑ "LARR". Latin American Studies Association. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Latin America Research Commons" . Retrieved 2021-04-24.
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