Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies

Black-and-white rendering of the central figure of the gate at Tiwanaku, Bolivia, an image developed as the MACLAS logo by past President and longtime active member, the late Professor Jack Child.

Black-and-white rendering of the central figure of the gate at Tiwanaku, Bolivia, an image developed as the MACLAS logo by past President and longtime active member, the late Professor Jack Child.

Logo for our new online peer-review journal, the Middle Atlantic Review of Latin American Studies.

Logo for our new online peer-review journal, the Middle Atlantic Review of Latin American Studies.



  Welcome to the website of the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS)!  We are an interdisciplinary professional association that promotes and develops interest in Latin America studies and affairs. Each year we hold a conference in the mid-Atlantic region, which by our Constitution includes Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. We welcome scholars of all disciplines in the mid-Atlantic and beyond whose work relates in some fashion to the sprawling and vibrant field of Latin American studies.

To become a member of MACLAS, visit our Become a Member page.

We are especially pleased to be embarking on our ninth year publishing the Middle Atlantic Review of Latin American Studies (MARLAS), at www.marlasjournal.com — an online, peer-reviewed journal on all things Latin American.  Building on our long tradition of peer-reviewed publication (see the archives of our journal Latin American Essays on this website), MARLAS represents the next logical step in our effort to disseminate new knowledge on Latin American Studies.  The MARLAS Editorial Board welcomes collaborators and new submissions — contact Managing Editor Jeffrey Pugh. We also publish a thrice-yearly newsletter and award prizes for articles and books published by MACLAS members. Click here to view the list of prizes, awards, and their deadlines.

MACLAS 2025, our annual conference held this year at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE, was a big success. We are now looking forward to next year’s annual conference, MACLAS 2026, on the lovely campus of PennWest California, about an hour’s drive south of Pittsburgh — see their website, here: https://www.pennwest.edu/campuses/california/index.php Please keep an eye on this website for the call for papers and more information as it becomes available.