Over 360 Latin America Experts Call on Obama to Improve U.S.-Latin American Relations

Anticipating a democratic victory in the November 4 presidential elections, 368 academics specializing in Latin America recently sent a letter urging Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama to become a partner, rather than an adversary, concerning changes already under way in Latin America. Above all, the signers are asking Senator Obama to understand the current impetus for progressive change in many of the region's countries: the rejection of the failed "free-market" model of economic growth that has been imposed in most countries since the early 1980s - a period which has seen the worst economic growth failure in the region, in terms of per capita GDP, in over a century -- and the adoption of more socially just and environmentally sustainable development styles.

The signers expressed their hope that an Obama administration will embrace the opportunity to inaugurate a new period of hemispheric understanding and collaboration for the welfare of the entire Hemisphere.

Most of those signing are members of the Latin American Studies Association, the largest and most influential professional association of its kind in the world. Signers include Eric Hershberg, President of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) and twelve LASA Past Presidents, along with over 350 other academics and Latin America experts.

The letter follows:

October 20, 2008

Dear Senator Obama:

We write to offer our congratulations on your campaign and to express our hope that as the next president of the United States you will take advantage of an historic opportunity to improve relations with Latin America. As scholars of the region, we also wish to convey our analysis regarding the process of change now underway in Latin America.

Just as the people of the United States have begun to debate basic questions regarding the sort of society they want-- thanks in part to your own candidacy but also owing to the magnitude of the current financial crisis-- so too have the people of Latin America. In fact, the debate about a just and fair society has been going on in Latin America for more than a decade, and the majority are opting, like you and so many of us in the United States, for hope and change. As academics personally and professionally committed to development and democracy in Latin America, we are hopeful that during your presidency the United States can become a partner rather than an adversary to the positive changes already under way in the hemisphere.

The current impetus for change in Latin America is a rejection of the model of economic growth that has been imposed in most countries since the early 1980s, a model that has concentrated wealth, relied unsuccessfully on unrestricted market forces to solve deep social problems and undermined human welfare. The current rejection of this model is broad-based and democratic. In fact, contemporary movements for change in Latin America reveal significantly increased participation by workers and peasants, women, Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples-- in a word, the grassroots. Such movements are coming to power in country after country. They are neither puppets, nor blinded by fanaticism and ideology, as caricatured by some mainstream pundits. To the contrary, these movements deserve our respect, friendship and support.

Latin Americans have often viewed the United States not as a friend but as an oppressor, the guarantor of an international economic system that works against them, rather than for them-- the very antithesis of hope and change. The Bush Administration has made matters much worse, and U.S. prestige in the region is now at a historic low. Washington's tendency to fight against hope and change has been especially prominent in recent U.S. responses to the democratically elected governments of Venezuela and Bolivia. While anti-American feelings run deep, history demonstrates that these feelings can change. In the 1930s, after two decades of conflict with the region, the United States swore off intervention and adopted a Good Neighbor Policy. Not coincidentally, it was the most harmonious time in the history of U.S.-Latin American relations. In the 1940s, nearly every country in the region became our ally in World War Two. It can happen again.

There are many other challenges, too. Colombia, the main focus of the Bush Administration's policy, is currently the scene of the second largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with four million internally displaced people. Its government, which criminalizes even peaceful protest, seeks an extension of the free trade policies that much of the hemisphere is already reacting against. Cuba has begun a process of transition that should be supported in positive ways, such as through the dialogue you advocate. Mexicans and Central Americans migrate by the tens of thousands to seek work in the United States, where their labor power is much needed but their presence is denigrated by a public that has, since the development of opinion polling in the 1930s, always opposed immigration from anywhere. The way to manage immigration is not by building a giant wall, but rather, the United States should support more equitable economic development in Mexico and Central America and, indeed, throughout the region. In addition, the U.S. must reconsider drug control policies that have simply not worked and have been part of the problem of political violence, especially in Mexico, Colombia and Peru. And the U.S. must renew its active support for human rights throughout the region. Unfortunately, in the eyes of many Latin Americans, the United States has come to stand for the support of inequitable regimes.

Finally, we implore you to commit your administration to the firm support of constitutional rights, including academic and intellectual freedom. Most of us are members of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), the largest professional association of experts on the region, and we have experienced first-hand how the Bush administration's attempt to restrict academic exchange with Cuba is counter-productive and self-defeating. We hope for an early opportunity to discuss this and other issues regarding Latin America with your administration.

Our hope is that you will embrace the opportunity to inaugurate a new period of hemispheric understanding and collaboration for the common welfare. We ask for change and not only in the United States.

Sincerely,

SIGNED:

Eric Hershberg, LASA President 2007-09, Professor of Politics and Director of Latin American Studies, Simon Fraser University

Charles R. Hale, LASA Past President (2006-2007), Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin

Sonia E. Alvarez, LASA Past President (2004-2006), Leonard J. Horwitz Professor of Politics, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Marysa Navarro Aranguran, LASA Past President (2003-2004), Charles Collis Professor of History, Dartmouth College

Arturo Arias, LASA Past President, (2001-2003), Professor of Spanish and Portuguese University of Texas, Austin

Thomas Holloway, LASA Past President (2000-2001), Professor Of History, University of California, Davis

Susan Eckstein, LASA Past President (1997-98), Professor of Sociology & International Relations, Boston University

Cynthia McClintock, LASA Past President (1994-95), Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University

Carmen Diana Deere, LASA Past President (1992-94), Professor of Food and Resource Economics and Director, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida

Lars Schoultz, LASA Past President (1991-92), William Rand Kenan, Jr., Professor of Political Science, UNC, Chapel Hill

Jean Franco, LASA Past President (1989-91), Emeritus Professor, Columbia University

Helen I. Safa, LASA Past President (1983-85), Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Latin American Studies, University of Florida

Paul L. Doughty, LASA Past President (1974-75), Distinguished Service Professor, Emeritus of Anthropology and Latin American Studies, University of Florida

Maria Rosa Olivera-Williams, LASA Past Congress Chair (2001-2003), Associate Professor of Latin American Literature, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana

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Thomas Abercrombie, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, NYU

Holly Ackerman, Ph.D. Librarian for Latin America and Iberia, Duke University

Judith Adler Hellman, Professor of Social and Political Science, York University, Toronto

Norma Alarcon, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
Alfonso Alvarez, Social Worker, Boston College Graduate School

Wayne F. Anderson, Professor of History and Latin American Studies, Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, NC

Robert Andolina, Assistant Professor of International Studies, Seattle University

Frances R. Aparicio, Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies Program, University of Illinois at Chicago

Kirsten Appendini, El Colegio de Mexico, Mexico

Juan Manuel Arbona, Associate Professor, Growth and Structure of Cities Program, Bryn Mawr College

Benjamin Arditi, Professor, Centro de Estudios Politicos, UNAM, Mexico, DF

Mauricio Arenas - CUPW Local 626

Andres Avellaneda, Emeritus Professor, Spanish and Latin American Studies, U. of Florida

William Aviles, Asociate Professor of Political Science, University of Nebraska, Kearney

Dra. Emperatriz Arreaza-Camero, Investigadora adscrita al Cine Club Universitario de Maracaibo, Universidad de Zulia

Florence E. Babb, Vada Allan Yeomans Professor of Women's Studies, University of Florida

Xochitl Bada, Assistant Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies Program. University of Illinois at Chicago

Gianpaolo Baiocchi, Director of Development Studies, Associate Professor of Sociology and International Studies, Brown University

Sharada Balachandran-Orihuela. Doctoral Student. English department, University of California, Davis

Deborah Barndt, Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies and Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean, York University, Toronto, Canada

Magdalena Barros Nock, Professor/Researcher, CIESAS Mexico

Leslie Bary, Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Emilio Bejel, Distinguished Professor of Latin American Studies, University of California at Davis

Lourdes Beneria, Professor of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University

Carollee Bengelsdorf, Professor of Politics, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA

Rina Benmayor, Professor, Humanities and Communication, California State University Monterey Bay

Vivienne Bennett, Professor, Liberal Studies Department, California State University, San Marcos

Charles Bergquist, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Washington

Michelle Bigenho, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Hampshire College

O'Neill Blacker-Hanson, Assistant Professor of Latin American History, Valparaiso University, Indiana

Mario Blaser, Assistant Professor of International Development, York University, Toronto

David Block, Curator of Latin American Collections, Cornell University

Laura Bonilla-Merchav, Department of Art History, Graduate Center, City University of New York

Stephen R. Boucher, Associate Professor, Agricultural and Resocurce Economics, UC Davis

Kirk Bowman, Associate Professor, Sam Nunn School International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology

Kalina Brabeck, Psychologist, Assistant Professor of Counseling, Rhode Island College

Rosalind Bresnahan, Ph.D., Collective of Coordinating Editors, Latin American Perspectives

M. Brinton Lykes, Ph.D., Associate Director, Center for Human Rights & International Justice, Professor, Community-Cultural Psychology, Boston College

Janet Brody Esser, Emeritus Professor and Past Associate Director, Center for Latin American Studies, San Diego State University

Alejandra Bronfman, Associate Professor, Department of History University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

Dr. Ronda Brulotte, Lecturer III, Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico

Monica Bucio, PhD Candidate, University of Warwick, United Kingdom
Stephanie Buechler, Research Associate, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

Amy J. Buono, Assistant Professor of Art History, Southern Methodist University

Maria Cristina Burgueno, Associate Professor of Spanish, Marshall University

Kathryn Burns, Associate Professor of History, UNC Chapel Hill

Marisol de la Cadena, Associate Professor of Anthropology, UC Davis

Kia Lilly Caldwell, Assistant Professor, Department of African and Afro-American Studies University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Maxwell A. Cameron, Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia

Ginetta E.B. Candelario, Director Latin American & Latina/o Studies and Associate Professor, Sociology Department, Smith College, Northampton, MA

Gloria Canez, Investigadora del Departamento de Estudios Sociales del Sistema Alimentario CIAD AC, Sonora, Mexico

M. Carmen Carrero de Salazar, Course Director, Faculty of Education, York University

Jennifer J. Casolo, PhD Candidate in Geography, University of California at Berkeley

J. Celso Castro Alves, Assistant Professor of Black Studies and History, Amherst College

Emma Cervone, Department of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University

John C. Chasteen, Distinguished Professor of History, UNC Chapel Hill

Ronald H. Chilcote, Professor of Economics and Political Science, University of California, Riverside

Donna Chollett, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Minnesota-Morris

Aviva Chomsky, Professor of History, Salem State College, Massachusetts

Clemency Coggins, Professor of Archaeology and of Art History, Boston University

Jorge Coronado, Associate Professor of Spanish & Portuguese, Northwestern University

Fernando Coronil, Presidential Professor, Graduate Center, City University of New York

Dominic Corva, Ph. C., University of Washington Department of Geography

Jennifer N. Costanza, PhD student, Sociology, Brown University

Liliana Cotto-Morales, Professor, University of Puerto Rico

Raymond Craib, Department of History, Cornell University

Altha Cravey, Associate Professor of Geography, UNC Chapel Hill

Marta G. Cruz-Concepcion, Teaching Fellow, 2008-10 University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Marco Cupolo, Assistant Professor of Spanish, University of Hartford

Edward D'Angelo, Professor of Philosophy, Quinnipiac University

Juanita Darling, Department of International Relations, San Francisco State University

Karen Davis, Faculty Lecturer, California State University Monterey Bay

Don Deere, PhD Student, Philosophy, DePaul University

William D. DeGrush, St. Michael's College, Colchester, VT

Guillermo Delgado, Lecturer in Latin American Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Jonathan Dettman, M.A.T. Associate Instructor, Department of Spanish, University of California, Davis

Dr. Rosalina Diaz, Associate Professor, Education Department, Medgar Evers College, City University of New York

Ariel Dorfman, Walter Hines Page Professor of Literature and Latin American Studies, Duke University

Lindsay DuBois, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

Christopher Dunn, Associate Professor and Chair Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Tulane University

Luis Duno-Gottberg, Associate Prof. Rice University

Christine E. Eber, Associate Professor of Anthropology, New Mexico State University

Marc Edelman, Professor of Anthropology, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York

David Egilman MD MPH, Clinical Associate Professor, Dept of Community Health, Brown University

Lynn England, Lecturer, Utah Valley University

Cecilia Enjuto Rangel, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Romance Languages, University of Oregon

Edward Epstein, Professor of Political Science, University of Utah

Arturo Escobar, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, UNC, Chapel Hill

Francisco Escobedo, Assistant Professor, School of Forest Resources & Conservation, University of Florida

Diego Escolar, Profesor Adjunto de Antropologia, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo

Monica Espinosa-Arango, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogota

Alicia Ivonne Estrada, Assistant Professor, Central American Studies Program, California State University, Northridge

Judith Ewell, Newton Professor of History Emerita, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA

Reverend Marc Fallon, csc, Catholic Social Services, New Bedford, MA

Claire Farago, Professor, Department of Art and Art History, University of Colorado at Boulder

Linda Farthing, independent scholar and author

Paja Faudree, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Brown University

Karen Ann Faulk, PhD, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan

Sandra Fernandez Castillo, Associate professor of Philosophy, University of Chile

Sujatha Fernandes, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Queens College, CUNY

Virginia M. Fields, Ph.D., Senior Curator, Art of the Ancient Americas, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Luis Figueroa, Associate Professor of History, Latin American, Caribbean, Latina\o Studies Coordinator, Trinity College, Hartford, CT

Eileen J. Findlay, Department of History, American University

Liz Fitting, Assistant Professor Sociology & Social Anthropology, Dalhousie University, Halifax

Sara Maria Lara Flores, Investigador, Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de la Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico DF

Yvette G. Flores, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology Chicana/o Studies Faculty Director Quarter Abroad Program Education Abroad Center U.C. Davis

Alcira Forero-Pena, Assistant Visiting Professor of Anthropology, UCD, Denver

Jonathan Fox, Professor, Latin American and Latino Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz

Erich Fox Tree, Visiting Lecturer, Department of Anthropology, Wellesley College

Elisabeth Jay Friedman, Associate Professor of Politics and Chair of Latin American Studies, University of San Francisco

Max Paul Friedman, Associate Professor of History, American University

Monica Frolander-Ulf, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown

Carmenza Gallo, Associate Professor of Sociology, Queens College, New York

Alyshia Galvez, Assistant Professor, Latin American and Puerto Rican Studies, Lehman College/City University of New York

Forrest Gander, Writer, Professor of English & Comparative Literature, Brown University

Angela Garcia, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, UC Irvine

Spike Gildea, Associate Professor of Linguistics, University of Oregon

Andrea Giunta, Professor of Latin American Art, The University of Texas at Austin

Helen Sabrina Gledhill, Scholar at the Centro de Memoria da Bahia, Fundacao Pedro Calmon, Brazil

John Gledhill, Max Gluckman Professor of Social Anthropology & Co-Director, Centre for Latin American Cultural Studies, The University of Manchester, UK

Tanya Golash-Boza, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Department of Sociology, University of Kansas

W. L. Goldfrank, Prof of Sociololgy and Latin American & Latino Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Roberta E. Goldman, Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Brown University

William W. Goldsmith, Professor and Director, International Studies in Planning, Cornell University

Judith Goode, Professor of Anthropology and Urban Studies, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA

Gail Gonzalez, Associate Professor and Chair Modern Languages Department, University of Wisconsin

Miguel Gonzalez, Sessional Assistant Professor, International Development, York University, Toronto

Soledad Gonzalez Montes, Profesora-investigadora, El Colegio de Mexico
Paul Gootenberg, Professor of History, Stony Brook

Hubert C. de Grammont, Investigador, Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales de la Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico DF

Greg Grandin, Professor of History, New York University

Karen B. Graubart, Associate Professor of History and Director, Program in Latin American Studies, University of Notre Dame

Terence Grieder, Professor Emeritus, Department of Art and Art History, University of Texas at Austin

Anna Gruben, Acting Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Oregon

Kevin Guerrieri, Associate Professor of Spanish, University of San Diego

Matthew Gutmann, Professor of Anthropology, Ethnic Studies, and Latin American Studies, Department of Anthropology, Brown University

Liza Guzman, Ecology Graduate Student, UNC-Chapel Hill

LaDawn Haglund, Assistant Professor, School of Justice and Social Inquiry, Arizona State University

Richard L. Harris, Professor Emeritus of Global Studies, California State University

Faye V. Harrison, Professor of Anthropology and Director, African American Studies, University of Florida

Daniel Hellinger, Professor of Political Science, Webster University, St. Louis

Elizabeth A Hennessy, PhD Student, Geography Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Kimberly Hernandez, Spanish Language Instructor, North Carolina Central University

Marco Polo Hernandez Cuevas, Associate Professor of Spanish, North Carolina Central University

Doug Hertzler, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Eastern Mennonite University

Peter E. Hildebrand, Professor Emeritus Food and Resource Economics, and Director Emeritus, International Programs, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences University of Florida

Derrick Hindery, Assistant Professor, International Studies Program and Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

Donald Hindley, Professor of Politics and Latin American and Latino Studies, Brandeis University

Mary Holper, Boston College Immigration & Asylum Project, Boston College Law School

Lori Hopkins, Associate Professor of Spanish, University of New Hampshire
P. Terrence Hopmann, Professor of International Relations, Johns Hopkins University

Rene Harder Horst, Associate Professor of History Appalachian State University

Sallie Hughes, Associate Professor, School of Communication, University of Miami

Janise Hurtig, Senior Researcher, College of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago

Forrest Hylton, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History, New York University

S. Ryan Isakson, Assistant Professor, International Development Studies, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Reiko Ishihara, Ph.D., Former Visiting Professor, Institute of Interethnic Studies, University of San Carlos of Guatemala

Deborah Jakubs, Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian, Vice Provost for Library Affairs, Adjunct Associate Professor of History, Duke University

Laura Jensen, LMT, Cultural Anthropologist, MPH candidate, New Haven, Connecticut

Reynaldo L. Jimenez, Associate Professor, Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of Florida

Benjamin H. Johnson, Associate Professor, Southern Methodist University
Jennifer Jolly, Assistant Professor of Art History, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

Susanne Jonas, Latin American & Latino Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Tedd Judd, PhD, ABPP-CN Adjunct Clinical Faculty, Department of Psychology, University of Washington

Karen A. Kainer, Assoc. Prof., School of Forest Resources and Conservation, and Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Susana Kaiser, Ph.D., Department of Media Studies, University of San Francisco

Marina Kaplan, Associate Professor of Literature, Smith College, Northampton, MA

Nicole Kellett, Research Associate, University of New Mexico

Norma Klahn, Professor of Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz

Cecelia F. Klein, Professor, Department of Art History, 100 Dodd Hall, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA

Benjamin Kohl, Associate Professor, Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University

Sarah Koopman PhD Candidate, Geography, University of British Columbia

Elizabeth Kubick, Independent Scholar, Latin American and Caribbean Issues

Maria L. Lagos, Associate Professor Emerita, Lehman College, The City University of New York

Victoria Langland, Assistant Professor of History, University of California, Davis

Brooke Larson, Professor of History, Stony Brook University

Nathalie Lebon, Assistant Professor of Women's Studies, Gettysburg College

Catherine LeGrand, Associate Professor of History, McGill University, Montreal

Michelle Lenoue, MA Latin American Studies, San Diego State University

Kelley Leon Howarth, Senior Instructor of Spanish & Head Undergraduate Advisor, Department of Romance Languages, University of Oregon

Alejandra Letelier Kramer, Anthropology Department, University of California Santa Cruz

Fredric G. Levin, College of Law, Gainesville, FL

Elizabeth Lilliott, Associate Researcher, Pacific Institute of Research and Evaluation

Amy Lind, Mary Ellen Heintz Associate Professor of Women's Studies, University of Cincinnati

Flora Lu, Assistant Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies, University of CA--Santa Cruz

Anibal Lucas, Director, Organizacion Maya K'iche', New Bedford, MA

Jennie M. Luna, Ed.M., Doctoral Candidate Native American Studies, U.C. Davis

Silje Lundgren, Ph.D. candidate, Inst of Latin American Studies, Stockholm University, Sweden

Amy Lutz, Professor of Sociology and Education, Syracuse University
Barbara Lynch, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology

Ann Magennis, Associate Professor, Anthropology, Colorado State University

Mary Ann Mahony, Associate Professor of History, Co-coordinator, Latin American Studies Committee, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT

Maria Margarita Malagon-Kurka, PhD in Art History

Laura Malosetti Costa, Co-Director Magister in Sociology of Culture and Cultural Studies, IDAES, Universidad Nacional de San Martin, Buenos Aires

Bernardo Mancano Fernandes, Sao Paulo State University

Valeria Manzano, History Department, Indiana University at Bloomington

Michael Marchman, PhD Candidate, Department of Geography, University of Kentucky

Maxine L. Margolis, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville

Diane Marting, Past President of the Mississippi Foreign Language Association, University of Mississippi

Lillian Manzor, Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Literatures, Director, Degree Programs in Latin American Studies, Director, Cuban/Latino Theater Archive, University of Miami

Patricia M. Martin , Professor of Geography, Universite de Montreal, Montreal, CANADA

Ruben Martinez, Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature & Writing, Loyola Marymount University

Patricia Mathews-Salazar, Associate Professor of Anthropology, BMCC & Graduate Center, City University of New York

Kathleen McAfee, Faculty of International Relations, San Francisco State University

Frank D. McCann, Professor Emeritus of History, University of New Hampshire

Robert McKee Irwin, Professor of Spanish, UC Davis

Marc McLeod, Associate Professor of History and Director of Latin American Studies, Seattle University

Malcolm K. McNee, Asst. Professor of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese, Smith College

J. Patrice McSherry, Professor of Political Science and Director, Latin American & Caribbean Studies Program, Long Island University

Carmen Medeiros, Assistant Professor and Faculty Fellow, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, New York University

Zoila Mendoza, Professor of Native American Studies, University of California, Davis

Cecilia Menjivar, Professor of Sociology, Arizona State University

Brent Metz, Asst Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Kansas
Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, Rutgers University

Kenneth J. Mijeski, South Eastern Council of Latin American Studies (SECOLAS) Past President (1999-2000), Professor of Political Science, East Tennessee State University

Rosamel Millaman Reinao, Assistant Professor. Escuela de Antropologia. Universidad Catolica de Temuco, Chile

Rosamel Millaman Reinao, Assistant Professor, Universidad Catolica de Temuco, Chile

Marilyn G Miller, Associate Professor, Tulane

Lisa Mills, Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University, Ottawa

William P. Mitchell, Prof. of Anthropology and Freed Foundation Professor in the Social Sciences, Monmouth University

Raul Molina Mejia, Adjunct Professor of History, Long Island University

David Mora-Marin, Assistant Professor of Linguistics, UNC-Chapel Hill

Julio Moreno, Associate Professor, History and Latin American Studies,
Co-Director, Center for Latino Studies in the Americas, University of San Francisco

Kim Morse, Assistant Professor of History, Washburn University, Topeka, KS

Julia E. Murphy, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Calgary

Dr. Silvia Nagy-Zekmi, Professor of Hispanic and Cultural Studies, Director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, Villanova University
Maria Isabel Neuman, Profesora titular de la Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela

Liisa L. North, Professor Emerita, Political Science and former director of Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLAC), York University, Toronto, Canada

John M. Norvell, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Pitzer College

Marcia Ochoa, Assistant Professor of Community Studies, UC Santa Cruz

Joanna O'Connell, Associate Professor, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of Minnesota

Patrick J. O'Connor, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, Oberlin College

Elizabeth Oglesby, Assistant Professor of Geography and Latin American Studies University of Arizona

Diana Ojeda, PhD student, Clark University, Worcester MA, USA

Anthony Oliver-Smith, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Florida

Andrew Orta, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Gerardo Otero, Professor of Sociology and Latin American Studies, Simon Fraser University, Canada

Okezi T. Otovo, Doctoral Candidate, Department of History, Georgetown University

Mark Overmyer-Velazquez, Associate Professor of History and Director, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Connecticut

Javier Eduardo Pabon, Assistant Professor International Studies, St. Augustine's College

Joseph M. Palacios, Assistant Professor, Sociology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC

Amalia Pallares, Associate Professor, Latin American & Latino Studies and Political Science, University of Illinois at Chicago

Juan Manuel Leon Parra, Graduate Student, Post-Deportation Human Rights Project, Center for Human Rights & International Justice, Boston College
Professor Alberto Julian Perez, Director, Latin American and Iberian Studies, Texas Tech University

Melanie Perez Ortiz, Catedratica Asociada, Departamento de Estudios Hispanicos, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Rio Piedras

Hector Perla Jr., Assistant Professor, Latin American & Latino Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Ann H. Peters, Visiting Assistant Professor of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University

Anna Peterson, Professor of Religion, University of Florida, Gainesville

Brandt Peterson, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Michigan State University

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Adjunct Professor of International Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Watson Institute, Brown University

Nancy Postero, Associate Professor, Anthropology, UC San Diego

Kerry Preibisch, Associate Professor, University of Guelph and Visiting Fellow, University of Sussex

Yolanda Prieto, Professor Emerita, School of Social Science and Human Services, Ramapo College of New Jersey

Lola Proano Gomez, Professor, Languages Division Pasadena City College.
Edwin Quiles, Professor, University of Puerto Rico

Joanne Rappaport, Professor of Anthropology, Georgetown University
Laurel Rayburn, PhD in English, Brown University

Cynthia Radding, Gussenhoven Distinguished Professor of Latin American Studies, Department of History, UNC, Chapel Hill

Ana Cristina Ramirez Barreto, Profesora-investigadora en la Facultad de Filosofia, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo, Morelia, Mexico

Margo Ramlal-Nankoe, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Ithaca College

Elias A. Ramos, Professor of Latin American Literature, California State University-Northridge

Marcus Rediker, Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh

Martha W. Rees, Professor, Agnes Scott College Decatur, GA

Bernardo Rengifo Lozano, Professor of Philosophy, Universidad de los Andes

Gerardo Renique, Associate Professor of History, City University of New York (CUNY)

Rosana Resende, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Florida, Department of Anthropology

Jennifer F. Reynolds, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, The University of South Carolina

Patricia Richards, Associate Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, University of Georgia

Kenneth M. Roberts, Department of Government, Cornell University

William I. Robinson, Professor of Sociology, Global Studies, and Latin American Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara

Debra H. Rodman, Assistant Professor Anthropology and Women's Studies, Randolph-Macon College

Marisol Rodriguez, Senior Research Assistant, Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University

Maria Rogal, Associate Professor of Graphic Design & Affiliate Faculty of the Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville
Karem Roitman, Lecturer, Regent's American College London, London UK

Cristina Rojas, School of International Affairs, Carleton University, Ottawa

Rachel Rosenbloom, Post-Deportation Human Rights Project, Center for Human Rights & International Justice, Boston College

Regina A. Root, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, College of William and Mary

Frances Rothstein, Professor of Anthropology, Montclair State University

Frederick Royce, Assistant Scientist, University of Florida, Gainesville

Alma Ruiz, Curator MOCA, The Museum Of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA

Ruben G. Rumbaut, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Irvine

Dereka Rushbrook, Lecturer in Geography and Regional Development, University of Arizona, Tucson

Eduardo Saenz-Rovner, Professor of Economic History, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogota

Frank Salomon, John V. Murra Professor of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Robert Samet, Ph.D. Candidate, Stanford University Department of Anthropology

James Sanders, Associate Professor of History, Utah State University

Luis Sandoval, Graduate Student, Post-Deportation Human Rights Project, Center for Human Rights & International Justice, Boston College

Myrna Santiago, Associate Professor of History, Director, Women's Studies Program, Saint Mary's College of California, Moraga, CA

Patricia Sawin, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Suzana Sawyer, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Davis

Marianne Schmink, Professor and Director, Tropical Conservation and Development program, Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida

Barbara Schroder, Ph.D., City University of New York

Ofelia Schutte, Professor of Philosophy, University of South Florida, Tampa

T.M. Scruggs, Associate Professor, School of Music, University of Iowa

Miguel La Serna, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of History, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Maureen E. Shea, Associate Professor of Spanish, Tulane University.

Barry G. Shelley, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Avrum J. Shriar, Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Urban/Regional Studies and Planning L.D. Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University

Sharleen H. Simpson, PhD, MSN, MA, ARNP, Associate Professor of Nursing and Anthropology, Affiliate Faculty in Latin American Studies, University of Florida

Peter Singelmann, Professor of Sociology, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Sandy Smith-Nonini, Research Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, UNC, Chapel Hill

Dr. Caridad Souza, Lecturer, SUNY-College at Oneonta

Liv Sovik, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Karen Spalding, Professor of History, The University of Connecticut

Shannon Speed, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Coordinator, Indigenous Studies Initiative University of Texas at Austin

Dr. Anita Spring, Professor, Dept. of Anthropology, University of Florida

Barbara Stallings, William R. Rhodes Research Professor, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

Maya Stanfield-Mazzi, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Florida

Steve Stein, Professor of History, Director Center for Latin American Studies, University of Miami

Marcia Stephenson, Associate Professor of Spanish, Purdue University

Steve Striffler, Doris Zemurray Stone Chair of Latin American Studies, University of New Orleans

Margarita M.W. Suarez, Department of Religion & Philosophy, Meredith College

Christina A. Sue, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Colorado-Boulder

Heather Sullivan, PhD Candidate in Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Henry W. Sullivan, Dept. of Spanish & Portuguese, Tulane University, New Orleans

Sharon Sullivan Mujica, Consultant, Institute for the Study of the Americas, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Daniel O. Suman, Professor, Division of Marine Affairs & Policy (MAF), Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), University of Miami

David Sweet, Prof. Emeritus of Latin American Histor, University of California, Santa Cruz

Analisa Taylor, Associate Professor of Spanish, University of Oregon

Beatriz de la Tejera H., Profesora e Investigadora Titular en Desarrollo Rural, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico y Universidad Autonoma Chapingo

Miguel Tinker Salas, Arango Professor of Latin American History, Pomona College

Cynthia Tompkins, Asc. Prof. Spanish, School of International Letters and Cultures, Arizona State University

Marion Traub-Werner, Dissertation Writing Fellow, University of Minnesota

Donaldo Urioste, Professor of Spanish & Chicano Literature, School of World Languages & Cultures California State University, Monterey Bay

Andrea Valenzuela, Assistant Professor of Spanish, Whitman College

Ivonne del Valle, Assistant Professor, University of Michigan

Lucila Vargas, Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, UNC Chapel Hill

Veronica Vallejo, Doctoral Candidate, Department of History, Georgetown University

Stefano Varese, Professor of NAS, University of California, Davis

Adrian Ventura, President, Organizacion Maya K'iche, New Bedford, MA

Adam Versenyi, Barranger Distinguished Term Professor of Dramatic Art, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Steven Volk, Professor of History Director, Center for Teaching Innovation and Excellence, Oberlin College

Lissie Wahl, Research Fellow, Department of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School

Kay Warren, Tillinghast Professor of International Studies and Professor of Anthropology, Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University

Ronald Waterbury, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Queens College CUNY

William F. Waters, Chair, LASA Ecuadorian Studies Section (2006-present), Professor of Sociology and Public Health, Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador)

Ronald W. Webb, Director, Latin American Studies (2006-present), Temple University

Susan V. Webster, Jane W. Mahoney Professor of Art and Art History, College of William and Mary

Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director, Center for Economic and Policy Research

Cliff Welch, Professor of History, Grand Valley State University

Norman E. Whitten, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Latin American Studies and Curator of the Spurlock Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Linda Wilcox Young, Professor of Economics, Southern Oregon University

Justin Wolfe, William Arceneaux Associate Professor of Latin American History, Tulane University

Wendy Wolford, Associate Professor of Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Stephanie Wood, Associate Director for Development and Dissemination, Center for the Study of Women in Society, University of Oregon

Edgar Woznica, Brown University undergraduate '09

Robin M. Wright, Full Professor of Anthropology (Universidade Estadual de Campinas) & Associate Professor of Religion (UF Gainesville)

Horacio Xaubet, Associate Professor, Modern Foreign Languages, North Carolina Central University

Qingwen Xu, Assistant Professor, Boston College Graduate School of Social Work

Caroline Yezer, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, College of the Holy Cross

April Yoder, PhD Student, Georgetown University

Professor Jordan Young, Professor Emeritus Brazilian Civilization, Pace University, New York

Phil Young, Professor Emeritus, Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon

Emma Zapata Martelo, Colegio de Postgraduados, Mexico, Profesora Investigadora Titular

Pat Zavella, Professor and Chair, Latin American and Latino Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz

Maria Zebadua Serra, Professor, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Mexico

Lori Zett, MIA School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, and Adjunct professor, Temple University

Marc Zimmerman, Professor and Director, World Cultures and Literatures, Director, Global CASA/LACASA Publications, University of Houston

Ann Zulawski, Professor of History and Latin American Studies, Smith College