In 1961 twenty latin american countries signed a document which committed them “to reform tax laws, demanding more from those who have most, to punish tax evasion severely, and to redistribute the national income in order to benefit those who are most in need while, at the same time, promoting savings and investment and reinvestment of capital.” Both before and since this declaration a great deal of research on taxation has been carried out in Latin America, and even more has been said about the “need” for tax “reform.”

Recent Archeological, Botanical and Geographical Work Has Produced so much information on native agriculture of the New World that it is time to review again what we know about origins and dispersal of agriculture in this hemisphere. Harris, a geographer (1967), summarized ideas on origins of agriculture of both Old and New Worlds. Smith (1968b) gives some brief observations on recent archeological evidence, but his paper was prepared in 1966. Here we will consider the most recent published materials and include some unpublished observations on the more important plants.

until just recently it would have been both futile and absurd to speak of American Philosophy, especially if that implied a reference to philosophy in Latin America. However, the subject was introduced and those concerned with whether or not such a philosophy existed have become even more vocal in the past few years. The nature of their preoccupation implicitly raised another, broader question: Is it possible to speak in terms of an American culture—where “American” is not simply a geographical indication but an expression of the presence of something basic to Latin American thought? Is there something “American” in a sense which would correspond to the significance this word for Bolívar, San Martín, Hidalgo, Morelos, Sucre, O'Higgins and many other notable leaders since who continually referred to America —her culture, her people and her philosophy?

although at times quite thin, there does appear to be a common thread of agreement running through most of the classic and contemporary literature on theories of revolution—this being the simple proposition that the majority of the participants engaging in such activity are dissatisfied, discontented, and often disaffected individuals. If we can think of “revolution” for the moment in its most general terms—to subsume under such a conceptual label both the simplest manifestation of civil disorder to the most grandiose occurrence of what might be called basic social change—then, it seems, we are in a position to illustrate the emergence of this basic proposition throughout the literature.

Interest in Research on the History of Ideas in Latin America is Increasing, but the product is spotty and uneven. As might be exepcted, much of the important work has been done by Spanish Americans and Brazilians. In 1950, in his Social Science Trends in Latin America, the author pointed out the interest in intellectual history, especially in Mexico, Argentina, and Uruguay, and this interest has increased notably since that time.

A decade ago, the study of pidgin and creole languages was highly compartmentalized. Very few linguists dealt with both pidgins and creoles. Few students of creole English were aware of current studies in other widely separated geographical areas, even of studies of the same language (e.g., Chinese pidgin English, Hawaiian English, Jamaican creole, and West African Krio). This compartmentalization is now rapidly breaking down. Linguists now view pidgins and creoles as two phases, perhaps even as only two aspects, of the same linguistic process. The geographical and interlingual barriers have so eroded that although a linguist may think of himself as primarily a Caribbeanist or a French creolist, he can no longer ignore work in other areas and other languages. Students of Haitian French and of Trinidadian English realize that they are dealing not with similar linguistic problems, but with the same linguistic problem. There is an increasing tendency to speak not of creoles but of creole.

“If you gotta ask, man, you ain't never gonna know,” satchmo Armstrong once said when someone asked him, “What is jazz?” Such an answer might also fit the question, “What is the state of our knowledge of what to do about illiteracy and ignorance in Latin America.” But the question has been asked in serious company accustomed to thoughtful answers—answers that guide and energize. So we will try to examine what is speculated, what is known, what is being investigated, and what we need to know most in order to establish contact with that vast terra incognita in Latin America comprising the illiterate and the unlearned.

THE TASK OF DRAWING TOGETHER USEFUL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT RESEARCH on problems of education in Latin America is at once an attractive and a disagreeable task. It is attractive because the kind of effort exemplified by this publication seems to imply increased attention to the need for research. It is disagreeable because of the obvious paucity of research, lack of a dynamic role for research in the educational process, disjointed and unrelated effort in the research that does exist, and misunderstanding of the nature of research and its function in a social field. The views expressed here are critical of research—its goals, its conduct, and the mechanisms for integrating it into educational development; but, hopefully, the observations made can be of use to enhance the research potential in this important sphere of activity.

This Survey of Latin American Studies in France was Compiled in the fall of 1967 and early 1968 with the aid of correspondents at the major universities in France, and from scholarly journals and bibliographies. The survey includes a brief discussion of the French news media's coverage of Latin America, a listing of the more important academic periodicals in the field, and a description of the universities and institutes supervising the area studies. Also, an attempt has been made to enumerate the larger research projects now in progress and to comment on general trends in all of the current research in Latin American studies in France.

In the last several years an increasing number of political scientists have turned to Latin America as their principal area interest. Many of these academicians have been trained in the various sub-disciplines of political science and turn to Latin America as a meaningful laboratory for the study of specific political groups or processes.

In this decade, sociological and anthropological studies of formal education in Latin America show signs of vigorous growth and promise of substantial future developments. The leitmotiv running through most of the social scientific research on education is education and social change or, more specifically, education and economic development and social progress. There is still no strong evidence of a concerted, cumulative development in this area despite heightened research activity and the fact that scholars are more regularly communicating and integrating their efforts. To the contrary, it is more common of researchers to appear oblivious of the prior or related work of other scholars in other centers of research. However, the common cause of a relatively narrow range of concern has produced a concentration of effort and many-faceted attack by scholars from many disciplines on these problems that promise potent developments in theory, understanding and discovery.

SECONDARY EDUCATION IN LATIN AMERICA HAS NOT RECEIVED A GREAT DEAL of attention by researchers and English language journals. Most of the research readily available in the U.S. is of a descriptive nature; that which is more specifically focused is reported in a wide variety of national and organizational journals difficult to collect. This review attempts to suggest representative studies from a variety of sources in order to give the broadest coverage possible in a short paper.

This report presents the results of a preliminary survey of North American firms that operate in Latin America. Its purpose was to uncover sources for economic historians and economists in an area that is largely unknown and unused. Firms that have deposited their materials in public archives in the United States have not been included in the survey; they will be described in the forthcoming Guide to Latin American Historical Materials in the United States, which is being organized by Gunnar Mendoza.