Olaf Kaltmeier

Stefan Rinke

Josef Raab

Mike Foley

Alice Nash

Mario Rufer

The colonial heritage and its renewed aftermaths – expressed in the inter-American experiences of slavery, indigeneity, dependence, and freedom movements, to mention only a few aspects – form a common ground of experience in the Western Hemisphere. The flow of peoples, goods, knowledge and finances have promoted interdependence and integration that cut across borders and link the countries of North and South America together. The nature of this transversally related and multiply interconnected region can only be captured through a transnational, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive approach. The Routledge Handbook to the History and Society of the Americas explores the history and society of the Americas, placing particular emphasis on collective and intertwined experiences. Forty-four chapters cover a range of concepts and dynamics in the Americas from the colonial period until the present century: The shared histories and dynamics of Inter-American relationships are considered through pre-Hispanic empires, colonization, European hegemony, migration, multiculturalism, and political and economic interdependences. Key concepts are selected and explored from different geopolitical, disciplinary, and epistemological perspectives. Highlighting the contested character of key concepts that are usually defined in strict disciplinary terms, the Handbook provides the basis for a better and deeper understanding of inter-American entanglements. This multidisciplinary approach will be of interest to a broad array of academic scholars and students in history, sociology, political science cultural, postcolonial, gender, literary, and globalization studies.

The Routledge Handbook to the History and Society of the Americas

It's the late 1980s and Chinese economic reform is in full swing. The newest province – Hainan – has just been formed, and is granted status as the largest Special Economic Zone by the central government, attracting many young and ambitious graduates to pursue their dreams of a better life. It's also a story about how unpredictable life can be. Twenty-seven-year-old Samantha Smith, with a university degree in literature and administration management, takes a two-week holiday in Haikou, the tropical coastal capital of Hainan, to see what the area can offer in business and in her love life. She sends a letter of introduction given by a friend in her hometown of Sichuan to the general secretary of Haikou, who opens many doors for her. Samantha becomes a journalist at the Haikou evening newspaper before her two-week holiday is over. Her life is then overtaken by a series of twists both emotional and professional. Samantha is at the peak of her career in PR at the China branch of the multinational group beginning to develop a major economic zone in South China, when the Tiananmen Square event takes place, resulting in economic sanctions by the West. How will these grim sanctions directly affect her own world? Will she remain in China?

Alice Nash

Books

Your next favorite book is out there