State of the Field for Busy Teachers: Latin American History
AHA Session 200
Saturday, January 10, 2026: 1:30 PM-3:00 PM
Continental B (Hilton Chicago, Lobby Level)
Chair:
Sharika D. Crawford, United States Naval Academy
Panel:
Kate Van Haren, Pittsville School District
Kari E. Zimmerman, University of Saint Thomas
Kari E. Zimmerman, University of Saint Thomas
Session Abstract
Our students will need to understand the history of Latin America and its people in order to understand the world and their place in it. Nevertheless, history curricula at many US schools, colleges, and universities have not always kept pace with this dynamic field in historical scholarship. This session will equip educators at all levels with an overview of major themes and topics in the region's history, including democracy, revolutions, slavery, labor, and the environment, as well as concrete resources on how to tackle and teach these subjects in the classroom.
We invite a leading historian to outline current debates, new lines of inquiry, useful primary sources, historiographic developments, and/or revised periodizations. For the rest of the session, a panel of educators moderates a discussion, with robust audience participation, about how to incorporate insights from new research into the classroom. We anticipate a lively exchange in which all participants can walk away with new insights and resources.
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