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Item Introduction to DeRLAS' 15th Anniversary State of the Art Issue(Latin American Studies Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 2015-07-15) Martínez Cruzado, América; Schwartz, Norman B.Item De la crítica latinoamericanista: el corto viaje contra sí misma(Latin American Studies Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 2015-07-15) Becerra Grande, EduardoItem The Development of a Cosmopolitan Sociology in Latin America(Latin American Studies Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 2015-07-15) Pumar, Enrique S.Item Mexican History Today: Where We Are, Where We Aren't(Latin American Studies Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 2015-07-15) Rugeley, TerryThe Mexican past has exerted a special hold over historians, in part for the issues it raises, but in part for its singular drama. This essay attempts to provide some degree of orientation concerning where we stand in terms of modern (that is, post-1810) historical writing, paying particular attention to the production of the last decade. The basic argument is that while interest in what might be called the “middle period” of the slightly overlapping Porfiriato (1876-1911) and Revolution (1910-1920) has declined somewhat, scholarly attention on the preceding early national period (1821-1876) and post-revolutionary years (1920 onward) has gained apace. Add to these trends a healthy increase in certain speciality sub-genres like the careers of key artists and archaeologists, and you have a fair approximation of where we are today in Mexican history. I can’t include all writers – in fact, I can’t even include most of them – but have tried to hit some representative cases that clue us in as to the direction of history today. For those not mentioned, my apologies, and my hope that they receive just recognition at the hands of a synthesist more talented than myself.Item Native American Oral Narratives in Mexico and Guatemala(Latin American Studies Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 2015-07-15) Taggart, James M.This essay is a brief survey of anthropological and folklore scholarship on oral narratives told by contemporary speakers of indigenous languages living in Mexico and Guatemala and recorded in the indigenous language since 1900. Topics covered in this essay include a brief history of the collection of oral narratives from present-day speakers of Mesoamerican languages, and the uses of those narratives as expressions of memory, in applications of the comparative method, as expressions of cultural logic, as accounts of personal experience, in performance and dialogue, and in ethnic activism. I aim to summarize work done toward understanding how oral narratives are ways of organizing experience in story form and offer suggestions for further research.