Hispanic American Historical Review

The Hispanic American Historical Review, commonly known as HAHR, is a scholarly journal focused on the history of Latin America. Founded in 1916 by Latin American historians associated with the American Historical Association, it was created in response to the limited institutional space then available for Latin American history within the broader U.S. historical profession. The journal was initially intended to provide a durable forum for research on the region and was first conceived under the proposed title Ibero-American Historical Review. Its first issue appeared in 1918. HAHR is recognized as the oldest journal dedicated specifically to Latin American history. Its early editorial board included Charles E. Chapman, Isaac J. Cox, Julius Klein, William R. Manning, James A. Robertson, and William Spence Robertson, with Herbert E. Bolton and William E. Shepherd serving as advisory editors. The journal published for its first several years but encountered financial difficulties. In 1926, Duke University Press assumed responsibility for publication and provided institutional and financial support, establishing a publishing arrangement that continued for decades. The journal predates the formal creation of the Conference on Latin American History, or CLAH, as an organization within the American Historical Association. It subsequently became the official publication of CLAH, the professional organization representing historians of Latin America. Until the appearance of The Americas in 1944, HAHR was the principal U.S. scholarly outlet for historical research on Latin America. Its institutional role has therefore extended beyond publishing individual articles: it has helped define the boundaries, methods, debates, and professional networks of Latin American historiography. HAHR is issued quarterly, with publication traditionally scheduled for February, May, August, and November. Both print and electronic editions have been offered. A typical issue contains several peer-reviewed research articles, a substantial book-review section, and, depending on the issue, discussion forums, obituaries, and advertisements for relevant academic books. Issues generally run to approximately 200 pages. Reviews are organized by historical period, ranging from precontact and early colonial history through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The journal also publishes thematically coordinated groups of articles when a topic warrants sustained treatment. The journal's scope encompasses the political, social, economic, cultural, diplomatic, intellectual, institutional, and transnational histories of Latin America. Its coverage includes Spanish America, Brazil, the Caribbean, and territories connected to the history of Latin America and the Hispanic world. Over its long history, the geographic and thematic balance of its contents has changed. A retrospective assessment published in 1949 found particularly strong coverage of Mexico, Brazil, the Caribbean, and the Spanish borderlands that are now part of the United States, while diplomatic history and biography were prominent among the leading fields of research at that time. HAHR has also served as a venue for reflection on historical method and the politics of historical interpretation. Its retrospective articles have examined the journal's own patterns of coverage and called for broader chronological, geographic, and methodological horizons. In 1960, it published an English translation of a Soviet assessment of U.S. scholarship on Latin America, accompanied by an editorially relevant response and subsequent correspondence. The episode illustrates the journal's place in Cold War-era debates about historical scholarship, ideology, and the interpretation of Latin American history. Editorial responsibility is assigned through a rotating structure involving one or more scholars, an advisory board, and the leadership of CLAH. Advisory-board members serve fixed terms, and journal editors participate in the executive committee of the professional organization. From July 1, 2017, through the 2017–2022 term, editorial responsibility shifted from Duke University to Pennsylvania State University, while Duke University Press remained associated with publication. HAHR also has a connection to the James A. Robertson Award of CLAH, which recognizes the best article published in the journal in a given year. Through its peer-review process, recurring book-review program, professional affiliations, and long publication history, HAHR remains a central academic platform for Latin American historical scholarship.

The Hispanic American Historical Review emerged from the professional marginalization experienced by Latin American historians within the early twentieth-century American Historical Association. Latin American history had relatively few sessions at the association's annual meetings and limited representation in The American Historical Review. A group of specialists therefore sought an independent journal that could give the field a stronger institutional identity and provide space for sustained historical research. The project was established at the American Historical Association's 1916 meeting in Cincinnati. It was initially contemplated under the name Ibero-American Historical Review, but the publication ultimately adopted the Hispanic American Historical Review title. The first issue appeared in 1918. The founding editorial structure included Charles E. Chapman, Isaac J. Cox, Julius Klein, William R. Manning, James A. Robertson, and William Spence Robertson, with Herbert E. Bolton and William E. Shepherd as advisory editors. In its opening years, the journal represented an important effort to consolidate Latin American history as a recognized field within the historical profession. HAHR published for four years but then struggled because of insufficient funding. Its long-term stability improved in 1926, when Duke University Press took over publication and supplied institutional and financial support. That arrangement placed the journal on a firm foundation. HAHR's relationship with the professional organization later known as the Conference on Latin American History was especially significant: the journal was founded before CLAH formally existed as an organization within the American Historical Association, but it became the organization's official publication and a major venue for the field's professional debates. For much of the first half of the twentieth century, HAHR was the leading U.S. outlet for scholarly articles on Latin American history. Before The Americas began publication in 1944, it was the principal specialized journal serving this area of research. Its early contents were concentrated in subjects that reflected the field's development at the time. A 1949 retrospective found that Mexico received the greatest share of geographic attention, followed by Brazil, the Caribbean, and the Spanish borderlands that later became part of the United States. Diplomatic history, biography, economic history, social history, and institutional history were among the most prominent fields. The journal periodically turned its attention to its own historiography. In 1949, articles marking the first thirty years assessed the chronological and geographic distribution of its publications, identified its most prolific contributors, and urged historians to engage more deeply with newer approaches associated with the New History. These assessments encouraged broader coverage and greater methodological self-awareness. In 1960, HAHR published a translated Soviet analysis of U.S. scholarship on Latin America. The translation was accompanied by a short critical response and followed by letters concerning the article's ideological claims. The editorial decision not to publish selected rebuttals reflected the journal's concern that responding to only some allegations might be interpreted as accepting the rest. The publication model has remained that of a quarterly scholarly journal. Issues traditionally appear in February, May, August, and November, in both print and electronic forms. They usually include three to five peer-reviewed articles, approximately thirty to forty-five book reviews, and occasionally a discussion forum, obituary, or academic-book advertisement. Book reviews are arranged by historical period, from precontact and early colonial subjects to modern Latin American history. Some issues bring together articles on a common theme. Research submissions undergo peer review, while book reviews are generally commissioned. Editorial administration is organized through one or more journal editors and an advisory board whose members serve terms of defined length. The editors participate in the executive committee of the Conference on Latin American History. A notable institutional change occurred on July 1, 2017, when editorial responsibility moved from Duke University to Pennsylvania State University for the 2017–2022 term. Duke University Press continued to be identified with the journal's publication history. HAHR is also linked to the James A. Robertson Award of CLAH, given for the strongest article published in the journal in a particular year. Across more than a century, HAHR has developed from a specialist response to limited professional representation into a durable international forum for Latin American historical scholarship. Its importance rests on its longevity, its connection to CLAH, its peer-reviewed research, and its extensive review coverage of the academic literature. The journal's history also mirrors the expansion of Latin American history from a relatively marginal specialization into a broad field encompassing multiple regions, periods, methods, and scholarly traditions.

• 2017

  Editorial responsibility transferred to Penn State

  [1]The Hispanic American Historical Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  Editorial responsibility shifted from Duke University to Pennsylvania State University for the 2017–2022 term.

• 1960

  Soviet assessment of U.S. Latin American historiography published

  [1]The Hispanic American Historical Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  HAHR published an English translation of a Soviet scholar's critique of U.S. work on Latin America, prompting editorial commentary and correspondence.

• 1949

  Thirty-year retrospective published

  [1]The Hispanic American Historical Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  The journal published several assessments of its first three decades, including analyses of geographic, chronological, thematic, and authorial patterns.

• 1944

  The Americas begins publication

  [1]The Hispanic American Historical Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  The launch of The Americas added another specialist journal to the Latin American history field that HAHR had long principally served.

• 1926

  Duke University Press begins publication

  [1]The Hispanic American Historical Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  Following early financial difficulties, Duke University Press provided the journal with a stable publishing and financial base.

• 1918

  Inaugural issue published

  [1]The Hispanic American Historical Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  The first issue of the Hispanic American Historical Review was published.

• 1916

  Journal founded

  [1]The Hispanic American Historical Reviewen.wikipedia.org

  Latin American historians meeting at the American Historical Association's Cincinnati meeting created the journal to strengthen institutional support for Latin American history.

An established, specialist, peer-reviewed historical journal serving the international scholarly community in Latin American history and functioning as the official publication of the Conference on Latin American History.

• Academic periodical · 1918

  Quarterly journal issues

  The core offering is a quarterly scholarly issue published in print and electronic formats, traditionally appearing in February, May, August, and November. Issues typically combine original research with extensive reviews of recent books in Latin American history.

• Scholarly content · 1918

  Peer-reviewed research articles

  HAHR publishes original historical research subjected to peer review. Its articles address Latin America across a wide chronological and geographic range and may cover political, social, economic, cultural, diplomatic, intellectual, or institutional history.

• Scholarly content · 1918

  Book reviews

  The journal maintains a substantial commissioned review section covering monographs and edited volumes. Reviews are organized by historical period, including precontact history, the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries, the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the modern period.

• Scholarly and professional content

  Discussion forums and professional notices

  Alongside regular articles and reviews, selected issues include thematic discussion forums, obituaries, and notices or advertisements relevant to the community of Latin American historians.

• 2017

  Transfer editorial responsibility to Pennsylvania State UniversityStrategy

  Background

  The journal's editorial administration was reorganized for a new term beginning in July 2017.

  Action taken

  Editorial responsibility moved from Duke University to Pennsylvania State University for the 2017–2022 term.

  Aftermath

  The change separated the location of editorial responsibility from the journal's established publication relationship with Duke University Press.

  Source

• 1926

  Secure institutional publication through Duke University PressStrategy

  Background

  The journal had published for several years but faced insufficient funding and had become financially unstable.

  Action taken

  Duke University Press assumed publication and supplied institutional and financial support.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement placed HAHR on a durable foundation and became a defining part of its long publishing history.

  Source

1. 1The Hispanic American Historical Reviewen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Hispanic American Historical Review official journal websitehahr.dukejournals.org