It took some gentle prodding from professors Cynthia McClintock andJohn Harbeson, conveners of this session, to persuade me toparticipate. The reason for my reluctance may be obvious,considering the composition of this panel. My distinguishedcolleagues can speak about “them” when referring to thecontributions of scholars from the regions on which they specialize.This, I gather, allows them some degree of objectivity whensummarizing and assessing the works of their colleagues in therespective regions; instead, when I analyze the contributions ofLatin Americans, I analyze “us.”