The Latin American Studies Association (LASA) is the largest association for scholars of Latin American studies. Founded in 1966,American Council of Learned Societies, Latin American Studies Association 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.LASA, About LASA

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."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. 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.Cline, ibid. The Constitution and Bylaws of the Latin American Studies Association were published in the Latin American Research Review in 1966.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. LASA's first President after its 1966 incorporation was political scientist Kalman Silvert, who published extensively on Latin American political systems and conflict.Kalman H. Silvert, obituary. New York Times, June 17, 1976, p. 38. LASA honors Silvert's memory with a major prize. In 1986, the association moved to the University of Pittsburgh where it remained until opening its own facility in 2022, the Latin American Cultural Center, adjacent to the university's campus.

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."

Latin American Cultural Center

LASA's Latin American Cultural Center (LACC), located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh adjacent to the University of Pittsburgh, serves as the headquarters of the association and features museum displays, rotating exhibits, meeting spaces, and a performance venue to showcase live programming that highlights the cultures, music, film, and current day issues of Latin America and the Caribbean. The LACC building, acquired by LASA in 2019 and opened in 2022, the building was built in 1912 by Ingham and Boyd and is a contributing property to the National Register of Historic Places' Schenley Farms Historic District.

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.

The theme of the 2019 Boston LASA Congress was “Justice and Inclusion". The theme of the 2024 Bogotá, Colombia LASA Congress was "Reaction and Resistance: imagining possible futures in the Americas"

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

BRASA Presidents

Leticia de Aquino Machado Eça (Grinnell College), 2026-2027 Gioconda Herrera (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) Ecuador), 2020-2021 Mara Viveros-Vigoya (Universidad Nacional de Colombia), 2019-2020 Lynn M. Stephen (University of Oregon), 2018-2019 Aldo Panfichi (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú) 2017-2018 Joanne Rappaport Georgetown University 2016-2017 Gilbert Joseph (Yale University) 2015-2016 Debra Castillo (Cornell University) 2014-2015 Merilee Grindle (Harvard University), 2013-2014 Evelyne Huber (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), 2012-2013 Maria Hermínia Tavares de Almeida (Universidade de São Paulo), 2010-2012 John Coatsworth (Columbia University), (historian) 2009-2010 Eric Hershberg (American University), 2007-2009 Charles R. Hale (University of Texas, Austin), 2006-2007 Sonia E. Alvarez (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), 2004-2006 Marysa Navarro (Dartmouth College), 2003-2004 Arturo Arias (University of Redlands), 2001-2003 Thomas Holloway (University of California, Davis), 2000-2001 Franklin W. Knight (Johns Hopkins University), (historian) 1998-2000 Susan Eckstein (Boston University), 1997-1998 Jane Jaquette (Occidental College), 1995-1997 Cynthia McClintock (George Washington University), (political scientist) 1994-1995 Carmen Diana Deere (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), 1992-1994 Lars Schoultz (University of North Carolina), 1991-1992 Jean Franco (Columbia University), 1989-1991 Paul Drake (University of California, San Diego), 1988-1989 Cole Blasier (University of Pittsburgh), 1986-1988 Wayne Cornelius (University of California, San Diego), (political scientist) 1985-1986 Helen M. Safa (University of Florida), 1983-1985 Jorge I. Domínguez 1982-1983. Stripped of his LASA membership January 2020."LASA Membership of Jorge Dominguez Revoked" LASA Forum accessed 30 July 2020 Peter H. Smith (University of California, San Diego), 1981-1982 Carmelo Mesa-Lago (University of Pittsburgh), 1980-1981 William P. Glade 1979-1980 Riordan Roett 1978-1979 Evelyn P. Stevens 1976-1978 Richard R. Fagen 1975-1976 Paul L. Doughty 1974-1975 Henry A. Landsberger 1973-1974 Thomas Skidmore 1972-1973 Federico G. Gil 1971-1972 John J. Johnson 1970-1971 John P. Augelli 1969-1970 Richard Newbold Adams 1968-1969 Kalman H. Silvert (political scientist) 1967-1968

Awards LASA/OXFAM Martin Diskin Dissertation AwardLASA Bryce Wood Book AwardLASA LASA/Oxfam America Martin Diskin Memorial Lectureship[LASA, Premio Iberoamericano Book AwardLASA LASA Media AwardLASA Kalman H. Silvert AwardLASA - named for the first president of LASA Luciano Tomassini Award LASA, Latin American International Relations Book Award Charles A. Hale Fellowship for Mexican History - named for University of Iowa historian of Mexican liberalism Guillermo O'Donnell Democracy Award and Lectureship Howard F. Cline Book Prize in Mexican History, named for a founder of LASA

Publishing LASA publishes an interdisciplinary scholarly journal, the Latin American Research Review (LARR) founded in 1965 by a consortium of U.S. universities. 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.

References

External links LASA website