Category: Latin American & Caribbean Studies

The Letelier Assassination and the Power of Non-State Actors

The following is a guest blog post from Alan McPherson, author of Ghosts of Sheridan Circle: How a Washington Assassination Brought Pinochet’s Terror State to Justice. On September 21, 1976, a car bomb killed Orlando Letelier, the former Chilean ambassador to the United States, along with his colleague Ronni Moffitt. The murder shocked the world, especially because of its setting–Sheridan… Continue Reading The Letelier Assassination and the Power of Non-State Actors

Negotiating Paradise: Mass Tourism, Empire, and Soft Power

The following is an excerpt from Dennis Merrill’s Negotiating Paradise: U.S. Tourism and Empire in Twentieth-Century Latin America. Accounts of U.S. empire building in Latin America typically portray politically and economically powerful North Americans descending on their southerly neighbors to engage in lopsided negotiations. Dennis Merrill’s comparative history of U.S. tourism in Latin America in the twentieth century demonstrates that… Continue Reading Negotiating Paradise: Mass Tourism, Empire, and Soft Power

Permanent Markers: Geno-Myths

The following is an excerpt from Sarah Abel’s Permanent Markers: Race, Ancestry, and the Body after the Genome. Over the past twenty years, DNA ancestry testing has morphed from a niche market into a booming international industry that encourages members of the public to answer difficult questions about their identity by looking to the genome. At a time of intensified… Continue Reading Permanent Markers: Geno-Myths

Understanding Puerto Rico’s Past: A Recommended Reading List

You may have heard about the recent protest in Puerto Rico that ended in the toppling of a statue in Plaza San Jose. It’s incredibly important to understand that these situations don’t usually happen “out of nowhere.” From various news sources and Twitter, it looks like this happened due to the continued celebration of colonialism in Puerto Rico and the… Continue Reading Understanding Puerto Rico’s Past: A Recommended Reading List

Hot Off The Press: January 2022

We’re publishing some great books this month! Read below to learn more about these exceptional titles. Don’t forget, our Holiday Sale is going on until January 31st. You can save 40% on ALL UNC Press print books and if your order totals $75 or more, the shipping is FREE! Enter code 01HOLIDAY at checkout to receive the discount. Published: PERMANENT… Continue Reading Hot Off The Press: January 2022

2022 American Historical Association Annual Meeting

Due to continued concerns surrounding travel and the coronavirus, UNC Press has decided to no longer exhibit in-person at AHA 2022. While we are disappointed to miss this opportunity to see you all at our booth, we hope you’ll take the time to visit our virtual booth. And we hope to see you at AHA 2023! At our virtual booth… Continue Reading 2022 American Historical Association Annual Meeting

Feminism for the Americas: A New Force in the History of the World

The following is an excerpt from Katherine M. Marino’s Feminism for the Americas: The Making of an International Human Rights Movement. This book chronicles the dawn of the global movement for women’s rights in the first decades of the twentieth century. The founding mothers of this movement were not based primarily in the United States, however, or in Europe. Instead,… Continue Reading Feminism for the Americas: A New Force in the History of the World

Universal Human Rights Month: A Recommended Reading List

Nobody’s free until everybody’s free. Fannie Lou Hamer December marks the annual celebration of Universal Human Rights Month. The observance of this month began in 1948 when the U.N. wrote a document called The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document was created after World War II and was used to “properly define what human rights would be protected universally”.… Continue Reading Universal Human Rights Month: A Recommended Reading List

Three UNC Press titles win American Historical Association 2021 Prizes!

Congratulations to these UNC Press titles who were American Historical Association 2021 Prize Winners! The AHA offers annual prizes honoring exceptional books, distinguished teaching and mentoring in the classroom, public history, and other historical projects. Since 1896, the Association has conferred over 1,000 awards. This year’s finalists were selected from a field of over 1,400 entries by nearly 150 dedicated… Continue Reading Three UNC Press titles win American Historical Association 2021 Prizes!

Executive Editor Elaine Maisner’s interview with Jean Casimir, author of The Haitians: A Decolonial History

The following is a Q&A between UNC Press Executive Editor Elaine Maisner and Jean Casimir, author of The Haitians: A Decolonial History. The Haitians: A Decolonial History, which opens with an eloquent foreword by Walter Mignolo, was translated by Laurent Dubois. The original book, Une lecture décoloniale de l’histoire des Haïtiens de 1697 à 1915, was published in 2017 by Imprimerie Lakay in… Continue Reading Executive Editor Elaine Maisner’s interview with Jean Casimir, author of The Haitians: A Decolonial History

Cuban Memory Wars: An Evening with Michael Bustamante

Back in April, author of Cuban Memory Wars: Retrospective Politics in Revolution and Exile, Michael J. Bustamante held a virtual talk in partnership with Books & Books and The Cuban Research Institute. In this talk, Bustamante speaks with Dr. Jorge Duany, the Director of the Cuban Research Institute and Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Global & Sociocultural Studies… Continue Reading Cuban Memory Wars: An Evening with Michael Bustamante

Happy National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month: A Reading List

September 15th—October 15th marks National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, celebrating the achievements and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Last Friday we shared a virtual conversation hosted by the Center for Political Education featuring UNC Press author Johanna Fernández in acknowledgement of this month, and now also share a recommended reading list that… Continue Reading Happy National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month: A Reading List

Center for Political Education’s “Writing the Third World” series with UNC Press Author Johanna Fernández and Nadya Tannous

In celebration of National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, we’ve decided to share a virtual conversation hosted by the Center for Political Education featuring UNC Press author Johanna Fernández and Nadya Tannous from the Palestinian Youth Movement. Johanna Fernández is the author of The Young Lords: A Radical History. Utilizing oral histories, archival records, and an enormous cache of police surveillance files… Continue Reading Center for Political Education’s “Writing the Third World” series with UNC Press Author Johanna Fernández and Nadya Tannous