News

February eNewsletter NOW AVAILABLE
The new February SLAS eLetter is now available online here.

Video of SLAS Annual Lecture 2011
The video version of John Holloways SLAS Annual Lecture "On Finding Hope on a Dark Night" can be seen here [new window]. Further information and links to previous Annual Lectures can be found here.

International Partnership & Mobility Scheme
In an initiative developed by the British Academy's Area Panels, one-year awards of £10,000 and three-year awards of up to £30,000 are available to support the development of research partnerships between UK scholars and scholars in Latin America/ the Caribbean. Awards cover any branch of the humanities and social sciences, and are intended to focus on collaborative research on a specific theme of mutual interest, rather than purely on establishing networks. Partnerships can include a range of related activities, and mobility (in the form of visits in both directions, exchanges, etc.) should form an integral part of proposals.

Further information can be read here

Baroness Cousins statement to the Lords
In the Lords debate of 13th October 2011, Baroness Cousins defended the need for the provision of modern language degrees. The full text of her statement can be found here: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2011-10-13a.1870.1#g1889.0

REF consultation
Here is the response sent by Lucy Taylor (SLAS President) on behalf of the members during the recent consultation exercise. Copies of the draft documentation for panels C and D, as well as generic criteria, can be found on the HEFCE website here: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/research/ref/pubs/2011/03_11/

SLAS Committee Elections
The following members stood for posts available on the SLAS Committee, to serve the terms 2011-2013.

President: Lucy Taylor (Aberystwyth)
Vice-President: Caroline Williams (Bristol)
Ordinary Members: Sarah Bowskill (Swansea), Victoria Carpenter (Derby).

Since no member stood for the post of Secretary, Adrian Pearce (King's College London) agreed to be co-opted for this role for one year.

Since one Ordinary Membership remained vacant, Jens Hentschke (Newcastle) similarly agreed to be co-opted for one year. Polly Wilding left the Committee after two years, while Peter Lambert departed after eleven years' service, including two years as President of the Society (2007 - 2009). The Committee extends its warm thanks, on behalf of the membership, to both.

Spread the word! e-letter news
Organising a conference? Running a seminar? launching a new masters' programme? Tell SLAS members about your activities via the monthly e-letter. Email Silvia Posocco with your items on slasweb@live.com.

What is SLAS?

Excellent Research | Multidisciplinarity | Community
Founded in 1964 SLAS is one of the leading Latin American studies organizations in Europe. We hold an annual conference, an Annual Lecture and publish the Bulletin of Latin American Research (BLAR). We have around 400 members. While most are academics and PhD students, members also include diplomats, journalists, and research analysts from business and non-governmental organisations. More about us...

SLAS Annual Conference 2012

The 48th SLAS Annual Conference will be held on the 18-20th of April 2012, and will be hosted by the University of Sheffield, Department of Hispanic Studies, School of Modern Languages and Linguistics.

The DRAFT version of the proposed panels is now available here [PDF].

You can now book your places on the conference, full details are available here.

BLAR Book Series

Some of the most ground-breaking research in Latin American and Caribbean Studies emerges from multidisciplinary and collaborative endeavours which bring together people, ideas and perspectives. The BLAR Book Series provides an ideal space in which this kind of innovative research can be published. The series builds on the established international reputation of the Bulletin of Latin American Research which publishes primary research from a wide range of disciplines in Latin American Studies.

Publications in the BLAR Book Series:

Set the agenda for new interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary research on Latin American and the Caribbean.
Combine current critical theory with original empirical research.
Lead the field of innovative edited or multi-authored publications on pan-Latin America and Caribbean research.

If you are interested in submitting a book proposal, email the BLAR Editorial Assistant Ken Lestrange (blar@liverpool.ac.uk) to find out more. For further information on submitting proposals, click here. The editors are David Howard, Jasmine Gideon, Geoffrey Kantaris, Tony Kapcia and Lucy Taylor.