Fourteen American academics contribute 12 chapters exploring a wide variety of issues related to the historical, political, and ideological configuration of the field of Hispanic studies. Dealing with Hispanism in both Latin American and the U.S., the text covers such topics as the use of the Spanish language both as a pragmatic and a symbolic device of domination; the disciplinary and academic aspects of Hispanism as a field related to the teaching of the language and as a space for the study of history and cultural production; issues and theoretical problems regarding identity politics, collective subjectivity, and multiculturalism; and new articulations of Hispanism/Latin Americanism. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)