Editor's Message: Hispania's Changing Landscape

Hispania - A journal devoted to the teaching of Spanish and Portuguese is a distinguished publication for the discussion of scholarly, literary, linguistic, and pedagogical issues in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian studies, both domestically and abroad. Hispania's sterling reputation was established by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP), its current and former Editors and Associate Editors, and all its teachers, professors, and scholars of Spanish and Portuguese. High-quality content, a rigorous peer review process, and a thorough treatment of submissions are the hallmarks of Hispania's success. I am privileged to be the new Editor and plan to build on the journal's time-proven foundation.

Scholarly journals influence teachers, scholars, and researchers as well as the profession at large. To be the Editor of such a journal is a serious ethical and curatorial endeavor. As your colleague and fellow educator, I pledge to serve you conscientiously. The Executive Council of AATSP has also appointed a new Book/Media Review Editor. I am delighted to welcome and work with Dr. John K. Moore, Jr. in this new capacity (pp. 144–163.). We are deeply indebted to those who have preceded us—Editor Janet Pérez, Production Editor Jeffrey Oxford, and Book Review Editor Ricardo Landeira. And finally, we are also excited about our new collaboration with The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Abundant challenges accompany editorial transitions. Some of these are internal to the AATSP and language teaching while others are external.

Within educational circles, there has been a movement to broaden, redefine, and work toward more interdisciplinarity. Myriad voices emerging from a variety of sectors are reflected in two recent reports published on the Modern Language Association's web site: Foreign Language and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World and Report to the Teagle Foundation on the Undergraduate Major in Language and Literature. While these reports focus primarily on foreign languages in higher education, implications for K-12 and non-traditional language instruction are also addressed. As educators of all levels in language, literature, and culture, I invite you to read our special pedagogical section on Curricular Changes for Spanish and Portuguese in a New Era: "Perspectivas en español/em português". It includes fifteen peer-reviewed position papers that address curricular changes at multiple levels of instruction both in the United States and abroad. I would particularly like to thank all the contributors to this special section for sharing their insights and innovations with our readers.

As you peruse this volume, you will notice several transformations. AATSP's Executive Director has explained some of these in her message (on the previous page). The content has been streamlined into the broad categories of Literature, Linguistics and Pedagogy. The book/media reviews have been reassigned to three subsections: Pan-Hispanic/Luso-Brazilian Literary and Cultural Studies; Linguistics, Language, and Media; and Fiction and Film.

I invite you to review Hispania's statement on what we seek to publish (on the copyright page) to confirm that our mission to cover a broad content area remains unchanged. In response to interdisciplinary trends in our field, prior subsections and departments have been consolidated to enrich scholarship. As the new editor, I hope sincerely that you enjoy reading our inaugural volume of Hispania. I seek your input as we move forward, and as I serve you in the years to come.