Introduction

Abstract

          With immense gratitude to the large number of people who, in several countries and across three continents, have contributed so generously their effort, initiative and commitment to this editorial project, we are pleased to present the journal Historia Agraria de América Latina (HAAL). The main purpose of this journal is to promote and disseminate research and interdisciplinary debate on the history of rural societies in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our editorial perspective is informed by a wide-ranging conception of agrarian history as a complex and diverse field of research. We seek to disseminate works on a wide range of topics, processes and problems, from technical and economic issues, such as production methods in the ever-challenging field of “cows and plows agricultural history”, to cultural representations of the “countryside”, which are often politically charged and not always so subtle or sophisticated. A journal with this perspective, we think, will help not only to better understand the rural past, but also to reflect on the societies in which we live.

          At the same time, this journal aims to be a point of encounter for agrarian historiographies in Latin America and the Caribbean. We are interested in publicizing the research being carried out in different countries, but also in promoting dialogue on theoretical-methodological approaches and historiographic debates. In that respect, our aim is for national, regional and local rural histories to gain relevance beyond their empirical content and use within comparative research, by providing ideas and strategies that can be adopted and adapted to advance the study of agrarian history in other countries, regions and places. To facilitate this encounter among the region’s historiographies–sometimes quite unknown beyond their own national borders–the journal will publish articles and book reviews in Spanish, Portuguese and English, the principal languages in which those who study the rural history of our region write, read and engage in academic discussion. Furthermore, this journal seeks to promote interdisciplinary dialogue; works in economics, anthropology, political science, sociology, cultural studies and other disciplines, that examine rural society from an historical perspective, will also be welcome. Here, we invite you to begin with the first issue.

Anna Cant & Claudio Robles

Co-editors of the first issue of HAAL