Designed as a supplementary text to a wide range of courses or as a companion to the Americas telecourse, this book presents distinguished essays by twelve leading experts on major themes and issues in modern Latin American history and politics. Beginning with an overview of Latin America and the Caribbean since the mid-nineteenth century, the text examines topics as diverse as the changing roles of Latin American women, ethnic groups and conflicts in the region, migration, the church and its social activism, high and popular culture, and the experiences of Latin Americans in the United States. Contributors: Alfred Stepan, Franklin W. Knight, Peter H. Smith, Albert Fishlow, Margaret E. Crahan, Helen I. Safa, Cornelia Butler Flora, Marysa Navarro-Aranguren, Jean Franco, Kay Barbara Warren, Anthony P. Maingot, M. Patricia Fernández Kelly, Alejandro Portes, Rubén G. Rumbaut.