Editor's Note

The present volume taps scholars in French, English, Spanish, and Art History, who in turn summon the perspectives of Cultural Studies, philosophical and theoretical approaches, gender studies, and delve into the complexities of the Atlantic world to address rich, cross-disciplinary topics. But rather than summarize arguments that are better articulated in the articles themselves or try to conjure up a coherent whole from a group of carefully selected but necessarily disparate essays from various fields and multiple disciplinary perspectives, let me instead briefly mention two highlights of SECC 39 from the editorial vantage point. First of all, the following pages demonstrate a particularly strong showing in the underrepresented area of Ibero-American literature and culture. I am pleased that SECC is able to feature this important and growing area of research in eighteenth-century studies. Secondly, volume 39 saw considerably more submissions than any other in recent memory. A likely, but no doubt only partial, explanation for this fact is the recent inclusion of the journal (from volume 36) in Project MUSE's online archive, and the attendant ease of access and visibility that are benefits of the electronic medium. We are delighted to be a part of Project MUSE and look forward to many years of fruitful collaboration between SECC and The Johns Hopkins University Press.

In addition to thanking Associate Editor Lisa Cody for her dedication, I want to acknowledge the hard work of the entire editorial board for volume 39—Mark Blackwell, Brian Cowan, Ann Kibbie, Julie-Anne Plax, Anna Rueda, and Anne C. Vila. Particularly because of the increase in submissions, board members spent many hours evaluating typescripts, commissioning and coordinating evaluations, and making final recommendations. It continues to be a great pleasure to work with this group of dedicated scholars.

Finally, I wish to thank the readers in the many fields of eighteenth-century studies who gave their expertise to help us evaluate all of the submissions we received. The invaluable Vickie Cutting provided essential guidance at every step of the way; and I would not have survived the spring semester without the help of my graduate assistant, Tiffany Stoner-Harris.