Honor, Status, and Law in Modern Latin America

“[T]he volume offers a wealth of historical and ethnographic detail. . . . The strength of the book lies in the drawing together of studies from different parts of Latin America. . . . [T]he volume is further enriched by the inclusion of what is, for historians, an unusual but promising approach: that of including a (historical) analysis of literary works. . . . [T]he collection offers an effective yet insightful introduction to the theme of honour, and, more especially, the interplay between honour and the law.” - Tanja Christiansen, Journal of Latin American Studies

“[T]his is a very readable anthology highly recommendable for use in anthropology, history, and sociology courses concerning modern Latin America, even more so if such courses have a comparative emphasis. It is also valuable for courses on women studies. Both research and general libraries alike must add it to their collections.” - Victor M. Uribe-Uran, Colonial Latin American Historical Review

“The collection illustrates—in exciting and innovative ways—the vibrancy with which Latin Americans engaged ideas about citizenship, civil rights, equality, and justice and how changing conceptions of honor shaped ideas about the individual.” - Heidi Tinsman, Hispanic American Historical Review

“This fine anthology examines a key concept in Latin American history and culture: honour. . . . [T]his is a very interesting book that is well organized and historiographically up to date.” - Osvaldo Barreneche, Social History

“This fine collection of essays will definitely be of interest not only to historians of modern Latin American but also to those scholars of the human sciences who work on cognate issues of gender, honor, law, and the social construction of citizenship in other areas of the world.” - Eric Van Young, American Historical Review

“This is a fine anthology of essays focusing on struggles over status or honor in different historical settings and regions through Latin America. . . . All in all, this is a very readable anthology highly recommendable for use in anthropology, history, and sociology courses concerning modern Latin America, even more so if such courses have a comparative emphasis. It is also valuable for courses on women studies. Both research and general libraries alike must add it to their collections.” - Victor M. Uribe-Uran, The Americas

“This set of essays is an important contribution to the emerging literature on honour in the modern period and should be useful to anyone with an interest in the history of ideas.” - Sonya Lipsett-Rivera, Canadian Journal of History

"The editors have crafted a volume that is intellectually rigorous, lucid in argumentation, and timely in the application of scholarly ideas. Even better, the arguments of these essays run together to a degree that is rar in edited collections. . . . The result is a textual unity that makes for a satisfying read." - Joshua Rosenthal, History: Reviews of New Books

"All of the essays present fascinating analyses. . . . The editors have provided a substantial service to professors by pulling this particular set of articles together in a single English-language volume, reasonably priced . . . in the paper-back version. . . . The writing is generally accessible and colorful. . . . User-friendly and well-done." - Kif Augustine-Adams, Law and Politics Book Review

“Honor, Status, and Law in Modern Latin America makes an important contribution to the historical understanding of ‘honor’ by examining its relationship to state formation, the law, sexuality, and racial mores. The creative and interesting essays, from scholars based both in Latin America and elsewhere, show the interplay of national and regional culture in how honor was understood and used in day-to-day social relations.” - Jeffrey Lesser, Negotiating National Identity: Immigrants, Minorities, and the Struggle for Ethnicity in Brazil

“This book will change how we view the long nineteenth century in Latin America, as it allows the reader to weave into the same cloth the two strands that ran through, respectively, the liberal state and postcolonial society, namely, the drive to form citizens and the desire to maintain status hierarchies.” - Teresita Martínez-Vergne, author of Shaping the Discourse on Space: Charity and Its Wards in Nineteenth-Century San Juan, Puerto Rico