In 2015, CSU Northridge founded the first Central American Studies department in the U.S., institutionalizing a shift in academic research that emphasized the intersections of histories of the Central American diaspora with those from the isthmus, encouraged interdisciplinary methodologies, and marked a profound political commitment to center Central American voices. This roundtable brings together Central Americanist scholars to reflect on this turn and discuss how their own work engages with questions at the forefront of this field today. First, we will discuss what constitutes Central American history, challenging the traditional view that Central America is defined as the former United Provinces of Central America (1823-1838): Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. This panel argues for expanding this definition to include Black and Indigenous Central Americans and countries such as Belize and Panamá into larger narratives of Central America.

Relatedly, this roundtable explores how Central Americanists are considering the historical significance of the diaspora. Given that in 2021, the Central American diaspora in the U.S. reached 7.2 million people and that in countries like El Salvador and Honduras, remittances account for approximately ¼ of their respective GDPs, we argue that there is much need for scholarship that bridges the traditional (and often, artificial) disciplinary divides of Latin American history and Latinx history and instead consider histories of Central America that are not bound by borders but rather more accurately reflect the communities with whom we partner and whose stories we research and write. Panelists will discuss methodologies, theoretical frameworks, and challenges and opportunities that they have incorporated into their research as they reconsider the contours of what constitutes Central American history.

Lastly, scholarship on Central America must move beyond crisis-driven narratives that present the region’s history as repeated cycles of U.S. intervention and support for far-right, authoritarian elites that always suppress popular mobilizations and exploit the region’s poor. But in decentering the U.S. and in revising this predetermined narrative, historians must not disregard power imbalances and the role of the U.S., extreme violence, and ongoing corruption and challenges to democracy that confront(ed) Central Americans. Panelists will discuss this challenge and gesture to pedagogical practices for those who teach on these themes. Ultimately, this roundtable will offer fresh humanistic avenues that expand the reach of the 21st study of Central America(n) history.