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LASA Forum Spring 2006 Latin American Studies Association fSPRING 2006o| VOLUME XXXVII rum| ISSUE 2 IN THIS ISSUE On the Profession La construcción de significado en la historia by MIGUEL LEÓN-PORTILLA Revisioning Latin American and Caribbean Studies: A Geopolitics of Knowledge Approach by ARTURO ESCOBAR Debates Tumultuous Times: LASA in the 1960s The Never-Ending Cold War: The United States, Cuba, and LASA’s Battle for Academic Freedom Political Commentary ¡Más político que cultural! o ¿Cómo llegó en Chile una mujer a la Presidencia? by MARCELA RÍOS TOBAR President Sonia E. Alvarez, University of Massachusetts, Amherst [email protected] Vice President Charles R. Hale, University of Texas, Austin [email protected] Past President Table of Contents Marysa Navarro, Dartmouth College [email protected] EXECUTIVE COUNCIL For term ending April 2006 1 From the President | by SONIA E. ALVAREZ Merilee Grindle, Harvard University 3 LASA to President Bush Joanne Rappaport, Georgetown University George Yúdice, New York University 4 From the Incoming President | by CHARLES R. HALE For term ending October 2007 5 From the Associate Editor | by ARTURO ARIAS José Antonio Aguilar Rivera, Centro de Docencia e Investigación Económica Elizabeth Jelin, Consejo de Investigaciones Científicas ON THE PROFESSION y Tecnológicas 7 La construcción de significado en la historia | by MIGUEL LEÓN-PORTILLA Lynn Stephen, University of Oregon 11 Revisioning Latin American and Caribbean Studies: A Geopolitics of Ex Officio Knowledge Approach | by ARTURO ESCOBAR Frances Aparicio, University of Illinois-Chicago Amalia Pallares, University of Illinois-Chicago Milagros Pereyra-Rojas, University of Pittsburgh DEBATES Peter Ward, University of Texas, Austin Tumultuous Times: LASA in the 1960s FORUM EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Editor 14 Some Personal Trivia about the Early Days | by RICHARD N. ADAMS Sonia E. Alvarez, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 16 Words From the Eighth President of LASA | by PAUL DOUGHTY Associate Editor 19 Lest We Forget: Women’s Contribution to Making LASA an Organization Arturo Arias, University of Redlands for all Its Members by One of the First Women to Serve on the LASA Executive Managing Editor Council (1973-1975) | by MARGARET E. CRAHAN Milagros Pereyra-Rojas, University of Pittsburgh 20 Memoirs from LASA’s 14th President | by PETER H. SMITH LASA STAFF 22 The Legacy of the Sixties and its Impact on Academics | by RONALD H. CHILCOTE Executive Director 25 Comments on the Presentations about LASA in the 1960s|by TERRY KARL Milagros Pereyra-Rojas, University of Pittsburgh Assistant Director for Institutional Advancement The Never-Ending Cold War: The United States, Cuba, Sandra Klinzing, University of Pittsburgh and LASA’s Battle for Academic Freedom Membership Coordinator 27 U.S.-Cuban Relations and U.S.-LASA Relations | by JORGE I. DOMÍNGUEZ Kate Foster, University of Pittsburgh 29 The Center for Cuban Studies | by SANDRA LEVINSON Congress Coordinator María Cecilia Q. Dancisin, University of Pittsburgh 30 Suing the U.S. Government | by WAY N E SMITH Administrative Assistant Sandra Wiegand, University of Pittsburgh POLITICAL COMMENTARY 31 ¡Más político que cultural! o ¿Cómo llegó en Chile una mujer a la Presidencia? The LASA Forum is published four times a year. It is by MARCELA RÍOS TOBAR the official vehicle for conveying news about the Latin American Studies Association to its members. Articles appearing in the On the Profession and Debates sections ON LASA2006 of the Forum are commissioned by the Editorial Committee and deal with selected themes. The Committee welcomes 34 Final Report of the LASA2006 Program Co-Chairs responses to any material published in the Forum. by FRANCES R. APARICIO AND AMALIA PALLARES Opinions expressed herein are those of individual authors 35 Report of the LASA Business Meeting and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Latin American Studies Association or its officers. Direct subscriptions to the LASA Forum only, without LASA membership, are $50.00 per year. ISSN 0890-7218 President’s Report by SONIA E. ALVAREZ | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | [email protected] Though LASA2006 is now behind us, the Transformation and renovation, or the “Spirit of San Juan,” I like to think, will changes necessary for what Arturo Escobar help inspire, enliven, and further transform in his essay for this issue refers to as the our Association for some time to come. “re-visioning” of Latin American Studies, The extraordinary hospitalidad and calor call for the further decentering of our humano with which our Puerto Rican and field—another aspect of the Spirit of San that increasingly violate fundamental Caribbean colleagues received us and la Juan that I hope will have enduring effects human rights and, crucially for our gente de San Juan welcomed us made on our Association. Given its unique place Association, encroach upon our academic LASA’s 40th anniversary celebration an in the post/colonial history of the Américas freedom. LASA’s ability to fulfill our core especially memorable one. Entre the and its lugar de puente between the North mission of promoting scholarly exchange unparalleled tropical extravaganza that and South, Puerto Rico proved to be an and debate among scholars in the Américas was the opening reception, the pulsating ideal site for a Congress on the theme of is seriously compromised by the systematic rhythms of the gran baile’s Gran Combo, decentering our field of study to unfold. denial of visas to our Cuban colleagues and and the exceptional media coverage and For those who’d never visited the island, the increasing difficulties encountered by public outreach that was arranged before or who’d never experienced Puerto Ricans’ many others from across Latin American and during the Congress, the local particular and profoundly Caribbean/ and the Caribbean in securing visas to the organizing committee, headed by Margarita Latin/o-americano hybrid/code-switching/ United States in recent years. Ostolaza, and our local sponsors—who re-mix of languages, peoples and culturas, included el Gobierno del Estado Libre San Juan itself was perhaps an intensive In response to this situation, the Spirit of Asociado de Puerto Rico y su Compañía de lesson in why rethinking conventional San Juan also turned out to be a renewed Turismo, la Universidad de Puerto Rico y la approaches to LAS/area studies is an ever spirit of engaged scholarship, of taking Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico— more urgent task. principled professional action in the name truly outdid themselves. We thank them of human rights and academic freedom, As I emphasized in my remarks at the again for their support. of honoring LASA’s long-standing tradition Congress’ opening session, San Juan also of solidarity/identity with our Latin/o Part of the “Spirit of San Juan” that we was an ideal site for LASA2006 because, American colleagues, on whichever side hope lives on is the spirit of teamwork with its guagua aérea and its 3 million plus- of the (b)orders they/we may reside—a and collaboration between the U.S.-based strong diaspora in the United States, Puerto tradition eloquently recounted in the essays Secretariat and local LASA Congress Rico, like the Caribbean more generally, collected in this issue’s Debates section, supporters, and the spirit of university- calls attention to the critical importance which presents testimonios by several of community outreach and inter-institutional of Latina/o Studies/Caribbean/Diaspora the women and men involved in LASA’s collaboration—between LASA and Puerto Studies to the enterprise of decentering founding decades who came together in a Rico- and Caribbean-based universities or Latin American Studies. Indeed, one of special 40th anniversary session in San universities and community organizations the miradas/epistemologías which is Juan. All of them, along with scholars who and research institutions wherever our imprescindible to a genuinely revitalized write in this issue about LASA’s relationship Congresses are held. Seldom has a LASA LASA mission is a recognition that Latin to Cuban scholars and our decades-old Congress been so extensively divulgado America and the Caribbean stretch well struggle for academic freedom, remind us locally or so thoroughly enmeshed in the into the North of the Américas, that there that this last aspect of the Spirit of San fabric of local university and community is no inside/outside, that borders within and Juan—embodied in the Declaration issued life. The over 130 students from Puerto without countries in our hemispheres are by the Executive Council on March 14, Rican universities who served as Congress increasingly fluid, like the waters of the 2006 (reprinted below, as amended) by the volunteers—recruited largely thanks to the Caribbean itself. EC on May 9 to reflect changes suggested efforts of longtime LASA member Professor by members of the Cuban Studies Alice Colón—were the most vivid testament Against the inexorable tides of cultures, Section)—is the very spirit of LASA. As to the spirit of transformation and histories, and humanity, the Bush part of a broader strategy to address the renovation that was LASA2006. administration remains ever more intent on enforcing and policing (b)orders in ways problem of growing impediments and denials in the granting of visas to Latin 1 lasaforum SPRING 2006 : VOLUME XXXV11 : ISSUE 2 PRESIDENT’S REPORT continued… American scholars wishing to participate this journal, for helping me refashion the in our Congresses and in
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