LACS-SHA Business Meeting

Charlotte, 2010

1.       J. Landers opened the meeting.

a.       After announcing we had 100 members, invited everyone to introduce themselves.

b.      Discussed the founding of LACS and the work of Kimberly Hanger.

c.       Noted that LACS had evolved, starting out as a Latin American and Caribbean group and expanding to Borderlands and Atlantic World.

d.      Encouraged graduate students to apply for the graduate student award.

2.       S. Johnson reported as the LACS representative to SHA.

a.       Announced that B. Ganson would succeed her in this position.

b.      Noted the importance of obtaining the jointly sponsored Kimberly Hanger panel with SHA.

c.       We now have five regular LACS panels, one Phi Alpha Theta panel, and the joint Hanger panel.

d.      The SHA is very happy to have us.

e.      Next year SHA will be inviting antiquarian booksellers to participate in the exhibit hall.

3.       M. Childs gave the Treasurer’s report.

a.       Our funds are up 50%, from $4200 to $6400.

b.      We only need $1500 to $2000 to cover yearly costs.

c.       We will reimburse graduate students $20 for the luncheon.

d.      A number of people have given extra for membership, and an anonymous donor gave $1000 for the Hanger prize.

e.      $7 goes back to the SHA for every $25 membership.

4.       T. Rogers gave the panel committee report for 2010 and 2011.

a.       We’ve had very good panels this year.

b.      Many submissions for 2011 came in the day of the deadline.

c.       We hade nine full panels submitted and several individual papers.

d.      SHA has accepted our submissions, and the program will achieve stability in February.

5.       J. Barr gave the report for Macleod book prize committee.

a.       Award goes to Edward Wright-Rios, Revolutions in Mexican Catholicism: Reform and Revelation in Oaxaca, 1837-1934 (Duke University Press, 2009).

b.      [Awaiting copy of comments from Barr]

c.       Wright-Rios was on hand to accept the award.

6.       B. Robinson gave the Hanger article prize committee report.

a.       Award goes to [need cite and commentary from Robinson]

7.       R. Browne gave the report for the Woodward graduate student article prize committee

a.       Award goes to Sitela Álvarez, Florida International University, “Cuban Exiles’ Rejection of Imperialist Catholicism in Key West, 1870-1895.”

b.      Encouraged graduate panelists to submit for this year.

8.       Landers opened nominations for Vive-President.

a.       The Executive Council nominated B. Owensby.

b.      No other nominations were offered.

c.       Owensby was elected by acclimation.

9.       Landers introduced Lyman Johnson as the keynote speaker.

10.   Johnson spoke on “Populist Politics in Late-Colonial Buenos Aires” and took questions afterward.

11.   Landers turned over the meeting to the Barr as the new President.

a.       Barr announced a new lifetime membership for $300.

b.      Our program chair for 2012 will be S. Franklin

c.       Announced the evening reception and encouraged people to attend the Phi Alpha Theta panel.

12.   Barr closed the meeting.

LACS-SHA Executive Council Meeting

Charlotte, 2010

Attending: R. Brown, S. Johnson, M. Childs, J. Barr, J. Landers, B. Ganson, T. Corse

1.       The meeting began with a discussion of the business meeting agenda.

2.       The minutes for the 2009 meeting were approved.

3.       Childs gave the Treasurer’s report.

a.       There is $6419.32 in the account, compared to $4200 last year. Increase is mostly due to increased membership. Our annual costs are around $1200 to $1750. Cost breakdown: about $300 for speaker costs, $500 for awards, $200 for reception, $220 for subsidizing graduate students (lunch and registration for 11 students). $7 of each membership fee goes to the SHA. About $2000 from membership will cover our costs each year.

b.      Ganson raised the issue of lifetime membership. After discussion, the council decided to create a lifetime membership for $300.

c.       Childs reported that he was looking at creating a PayPal account through our Bank of America account.

4.       Johnson gave the report for the LACS representative to SHA.

a.       SHA has approved an extra panel for LACS given that we are now co-sponsoring a Kimberly Hanger panel. We will now have five regular panels, one Phi Alpha Theta panel, and the joint Hanger panel. SHA approved this partly on our need this year to turn down panels and papers because of the large number of submissions.

b.      Landers noted the high attendance at the first two panels – about 60 at each. The Atlantic World topic has helped in attracting attendance.

c.       Johnson reported that SHA will be inviting antiquarian booksellers to participate in next year’s exhibit hall.

5.       Barr gave the 2011 program report.

a.       All panels have been accepted. SHA switched the Hanger panel to the St. Augustine panel. They saw it as more clearly borderlands. All panels proposed by B. Vinson were approved.

b.      Johnson noted that SHA doesn’t want panels with multiple people from the same university. Barr said that the European representative had told SHA this was a problem for small groups, and SHA has agreed to exempt us from this rule.

c.       2011 panel titles (from an e-mail from Brown forwarding information from Vinson):

                                                               i.      Anthropologists, Scientists, and the Study of Latin America

                                                             ii.      War, Race, and Religion in the Colonial Spanish Caribbean

                                                            iii.      Religious Orders, Indigenous Resistance, and Aristocratic Women in the Early Spanish Caribbean

                                                           iv.      Choice and Consequence in the Lives of Central American Slaves and Freedmen

                                                             v.      Emerging Nations, Contested States: 19^th Century Politics in Latin America

6.       Barr opened discussion on the 2012 program committee.

a.       After discussion it was agreed that Vinson and T. Rogers (as the previous two chairs) would be on the committee, and that S. Franklin would be asked to be the third member and chair.

b.      Brown noted that the deadline in usually October 1. We usually do an announcement in the spring and another in August, plus the notifications in the newsletters.

7.       The council discussed the Hanger panel.

a.       Johnson said that SHA wants panels related to Hanger’s work.

b.      Barr said that that was the thinking on the selection of the panel this year.

c.       Johnson said that we should continue to put forth a Hanger panel proposal.

d.      There was general agreement that we should continue to control this panel.

e.      Barr said we should call for specific Hanger panel proposals in our CFP.

8.       Barr gave the Macleod book prize committee report.

a.       We received 22 books, which we narrowed down to three.  Some were not really eligible, only 19 were viable.

b.      We selected Edward Wright-Rios, Revolutions in Mexican Catholicism: Reform and Revelation in Oaxaca, 1837-1934 (Duke University Press, 2009).

9.       Landers gave the Hanger article prize committee report

a.       We had only seven submissions.

b.      Ganson said that there were 40 when she chaired the committee.

c.       There was general discussion concerning having the membership committee promote the paper prize.

10.   A discussion followed on the possibility of creating a Development committee to promote LACS activities and membership. Childs and Brown agreed to discuss later the future role of the Treasurer and the possibility of a membership committee.

11.   Landers opened discussion of nominations for the Vice-Presidency. B. Owensby of U. Virginia has agreed to do it.

12.   A discussion began on the 2012 prize committees.

a.       Barr will set up the committees.

b.      Committees should have a holdover member, and some geographic spread.

c.       They can be used to recruit new members as committee members must be LACS members.  

13.   Brown discussed the newsletter.

a.       We have a twice-a-year newsletter.

b.      Brown wants to start using photos.

c.       At some point, Brown would like to start including information on member activities, but that’s a lot of work.

d.      We had profiles of prize winners and memorial profiles this year.

14.   Landers opened a discussion on the website.

a.       Landers suggested redesigning the site, and the possibility of hiring someone to do that.

b.      Childs suggested that U. Florida and Vanderbilt could possibly host the site permanently and provide institutional support.

c.       Corse noted the lack of institutional support at TN State.

d.      Ganson said that hiring people was expensive.

e.      Johnson agreed to look into the possibility of moving the site to FIU. A general discussion of moving the site followed.

15.   Landers opened a discussion about membership.

a.       Landers and Childs will work together on putting together a membership committee.

b.      Landers said that the council would continue to look at the question of creating a distinguished service award committee and a dissertation award committee by e-mail.

16.   A general discussion of possible speakers for the Baltimore meeting in 2011 followed. Names for a possible speaker should be forwarded to Barr.

17.   The meeting was adjourned.