Pedro Alcántara se sitúa en el vórtice crucial de la segunda mitad del siglo xx, período, en que el arte y las letras latinoamericanas expresan un especial empuje renovador y la militancia de los creadores enfrenta las atrocidades de las guerras imperiales, las funestas dictaduras que oscurecieron el cielo de este joven continente y las endémicas formas de violencia que son una venda para el espíritu. Abordar su obra obliga a ponerla en consonancia con ese rico y contradictorio contexto del pensamiento y de la historia, y permite que su trabajo como hombre de la cultura halle una explicación más compleja que contribuya a comprender su indagación y sus alcances estéticos. Pedro Alcántara is situated in the pivotal vortex of the second half of the 20th century, where Latin American arts and literature display a special revitalizing thrust and where militancy of the creators faces the atrocities of the imperialr wars, the baleful dictatorships that darkened the sky of this young continent, and the endemic forms of violence that are a blindfold for the spirit. Addressing Alcántaras work oblíges one to place it in accordance to that rich and contradictory context of thought and history, allowing his work, as a man of culture, to find a more complex explanation that contributes, to the understanding of his inquiry and of his a esthetic scopes.

A consideration of several regional scenarios based on actual, prolonged, outlying climatic events that have occurred recently in North America. No index. The companion volume to On Meaning (Minnesota, 1987), which focused on semiotic theory. These previously published (in French) texts provide a theoretical and methodological framework for studying discourses in the social sciences. Greimas is professor of general semantics at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes in Sciences Sociales in Paris. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Students of American history know of the law’s critical role in systematizing a racial hierarchy in the United States. Showing that this history is best appreciated in a comparative perspective, The Long, Lingering Shadow looks at the parallel legal histories of race relations in the United States, Brazil, and Spanish America. Robert J. Cottrol takes the reader on a journey from the origins of New World slavery in colonial Latin America to current debates and litigation over affirmative action in Brazil and the United States, as well as contemporary struggles against racial discrimination and Afro-Latin invisibility in the Spanish-speaking nations of the hemisphere. Ranging across such topics as slavery, emancipation, scientific racism, immigration policies, racial classifications, and legal processes, Cottrol unravels a complex odyssey. By the eve of the Civil War, the U.S. slave system was rooted in a legal and cultural foundation of racial exclusion unmatched in the Western Hemisphere. That system’s legacy was later echoed in Jim Crow, the practice of legally mandated segregation. Jim Crow in turn caused leading Latin Americans to regard their nations as models of racial equality because their laws did not mandate racial discrimination— a belief that masked very real patterns of racism throughout the Americas. And yet, Cottrol says, if the United States has had a history of more-rigid racial exclusion, since the Second World War it has also had a more thorough civil rights revolution, with significant legal victories over racial discrimination. Cottrol explores this remarkable transformation and shows how it is now inspiring civil rights activists throughout the Americas.

"Explores European foreign policy and the degree of European Union success in proposing itself as a valid international actor, drawing from the expertise of scholars and practitioners in many disciplines. Addresses issues past and present, theoretical and practice-oriented, and country- and region-specific"-- Provided by publisher.

Spain's membership of the European Union since 1986 has had a major impact. Driven primarily by political concerns to secure democracy, membership has also served as a catalyst to dynamic economic development in Spain. This book analyzes how the EU has helped shape the political process in Spain, focusing on the key institutions and the policy process. At the same time, Spain's increasingly proactive role within the EU is also explored, with particular attention given to the country's international position in post-Cold War Europe.

The city is not only built of towers of steel and glass; it is a product of culture. It plays an especially important role in Latin America, where urban areas hold a near-monopoly on resources and are home to an expanding population. The essays in this collection assert that women's views of the city are unique and revealing. For the first time, Unfolding the City addresses issues of gender and the urban in literature--particularly lesser-known works of literature--written by Latin American women from Mexico City, Santiago, and Buenos Aires. The contributors propose new mappings of urban space; interpret race and class dynamics; and describe Latin American urban centers in the context of globalization. Contributors: Debra A. Castillo, Cornell U; Sandra Messinger Cypess, U of Maryl∧ Guillermo Irizarry, U of Massachusetts, Amherst; Naomi Lindstrom, U of Texas, Austin; Jacqueline Loss, U of Connecticut; Dorothy E. Mosby, Mount Holyoke Colle≥ Angel Rivera, Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Lidia Santos, Yale U; Marcy Schwartz, Rutgers U; Daniel Noemi Voionmaa, U of Michigan; Gareth Williams, U of Michigan. Anne Lambright is associate professor of modern languages and literature at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Elisabeth Guerrero is associate professor of Spanish at Bucknell University.

This publication provides an up-to-date assessment of the political and economic issues and is valuable reading for anyone wishing to understand contemporary Spain and Portugal. Following decades of relative isolation under authoritarian regimes, the success of the processes of democratic transition in both countries paved the way for full membership in the European Community in 1986. Drawing on research by established scholars, Spain and Portugal in the European Union offers an original series of analyses of the development of Iberian politics, sociology and economics since the accession to the European Union.