Under the dynamic leadership of Jennifer Holmes, MALAS made both an aggressive effort to increase membership and to again pair with the regional International Studies Association (ISA) to make our 60th gala a truly memorable event.
 

As you know, for MALAS, the definition of Midwest is expansive, reaching from Utah to Connecticut and from Texas to Minnesota.  Last year, participants included many international scholars and practitioners from around the Western Hemisphere, as well as Europe. Winning, it has been said, is a group effort, and the special mix of camaraderie and scholarship we achieved in St. Louis was no exception. 

A fraternal as well as scholarly association, MALAS is again reaching out in search of participation from new colleagues, including both undergraduate and graduate students.

MALAS owes special thanks to many for the success of the 2010 conference, but especially so to Jennifer, Jaime Torres, Orlando Perez, Richard Millett, Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres, Guillermo A. Rodríguez and Thomas Shannon Stiles, as well as to Carolyn Shaw and our other friends at ISA.

This year's conference, to be held November 17-19, promises to be no less exciting.
 
In addition to taking advantage of our keeping up the drumbeat in search of new members, especially young scholars, we hope to be able to take full use of the wonderful hospitality promised by the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma.
 
We are particularly fortunate to have as our hosts President David L. Boren (the longest- serving chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the current co-chair of the U.S President's Intelligence Advisory Board) and the College of International Studies and its Conoco-Phillips Professor of Latin American Studies, Dr. Alan McPherson.
 
A special treat for any Latin Americanist is the fact that another of our conference hosts is none other than Ambassador (ret.) Ed Corr, one of the most respected U.S. diplomats serving in Latin America in recent memory. Former MALAS President John T. Fishel is working with Ambassador Corr in making the event in Norman truly memorable.
 
Below you will find our 2011 call for papers.

This year's preregistration and membership forms will be posted soon on our Web site (which is currently undergoing renovation).
 
¡Hasta pronto!
 
Martin Edwin "Mick" Andersen
President, MALAS 2011
 
 
 
                                            MALAS Call for Papers 2011 
MALAS is interdisciplinary and welcomes papers on a variety of Latin American topics. In addition to the suggested disciplines listed below, because 2011 is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Peace Corps, we are also adding to our call scholarly pieces focusing that institution as well.
                               
Literature
Political Change
Democratic Processes
Natural Resources
Environmental Studies
International Relations
Sustainable Development
Free Trade Agreements
Art
Music
Gender Roles
Culture and Identity
Economic Crisis
History & Landscape
Migration Topics
Indigenous and Afro-Latino Peoples
New Technologies
Social Justice  
Human Rights  
Country Studies
Economic Integration
Caribbean Topics
 
Other paper topics welcome!