The Companion to Latin American Studies

by Philip Swanson (Editor)

This guide gives a brief and accessible overview of the whole of Latin American Studies. Covering all the possible topics, from colonial cultures and identity to US Latino culture and issues of race, gender and sexuality, this book situates Latin America in its historical, linguistic and cultural context. Whether taking a single module or a whole degree in Latin American Studies, this book provides students with a reliable companion throughout the course.



Written by an international team of experts, each chapter in the book supplies the necessary basic information and a sound introduction to key ideas, issues and debates. In addition to 13 short chapters on the main topics in Latin American Studies, the Companion includes time-lines, a glossary of terms and annotated suggestions for further reading.

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[nathali ₍ᐢ. ̫.ᐢ₎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shines best when speaking on economics but falls flat when exploring sexuality and gender. This is most apparent in the blatantly transphobic deception meant to discuss trans Latin Americans. The section is about a paragraph long, only discusses trans women (claiming that trans women view themselves as superior to cis women and pointing out the amount of trans women who work in prostitution and are pursued by cis men without acknowledging the socioeconomic reasons for this), and completely derails into a discussion of homosexuality. This is disheartening as sexuality and gender are complex issues and have rich histories in many Latin American countries. Overall, the book is incapable of fully exploring these topics which is expected as this is simply meant to be an introduction but the topics of sexuality are done a disservice as they are explored with no nuance and showcase an apparent bias. Other than that, I’d say this is a very digestible introduction into Latin American studies.