Notes From the Editors

Notes From the Editors Gregory S. Crider The Southeastern Council of Latin American Studies convened 22–26 March 2023 in Antigua, Guatemala for our Seventieth Annual Meeting. The conference featured ninety-two panels on a wide variety of topics. Program chairs David Dalton (University of North Carolina at Charlotte) and Colin Snider (University of Texas at Tyler) expertly arranged panels in the areas of Literature & Cultural Studies and History & Social Sciences respectively. Monica Rankin (University of Texas at Dallas), Alvis Dunn (University of North Carolina at Asheville), Jürgen Buchenau (UNC Charlotte), Chad Black (University of Tennessee), Steven Hyland (Wingate University), and Gregory Crider (Winthrop University) handled local arrangements for the conference. Returning to Latin America for the first time since the global pandemic, conference-goers greatly enjoyed the beautiful and friendly environs of Antigua. Headquartered at the Porta Hotel, members explored historic and cultural sites as well as urban eateries and other local splendors. Attendees engaged in lively social and networking events hosted by the conference. Co-sponsors of the conference included the Institute for the Study of the Americas at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs, as co-sponsors of the conference, delivered meaningful support to the annual meeting. Our collaborators at UNC Press, John McLeod and Kate Stack, offered much appreciated backing as well. The Latin Americanist, now with six years of alliance with the University of North Carolina Press, continues to grow our readership and exposure and can be accessed via Project Muse, an online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and books. Special thanks also go out to Steven Hyland for his leadership in SECOLAS—serving many years as the SECOLAS Secretary-Treasurer and organizing outstanding annual meetings. This volume features some of the best papers from the conference in article format. Seventeen of the 285 presenters at the conference submitted revised manuscripts of their papers for publication. Following editorial and peer review and another round of revisions, the eight articles published in this issue represent a range of disciplines in both the humanities and social sciences. Managing Editor Megan White has keenly overseen communications with authors and preparation of manuscripts for publication. We also express our great appreciation for the careful work of our anonymous peer reviewers. [End Page 7] UNC Charlotte, Winthrop University, and Wingate University, the three SECOLAS host institutions, offer significant financial and institutional backing for the publication and success of this journal. In particular, we offer our gratitude to Dr. John Smail, Dean of the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences at UNC Charlotte; Dr. Takita Sumter, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and the Ellison Capers Palmer, Jr. Professorship of History at Winthrop for their continuing support of The Latin Americanist. [End Page 8]