Olaf Kaltmeier is Professor for Ibero-American History and Director of the Center for Inter-American Studies (CIAS) at Bielefeld University, Germany.

General Introduction Part I History and Society in the Americas from the 16th to 19th Century Introduction: History and Society in the Americas from the 16th to 19th Century. The Bigger Picture 1 America 2 Atlantic 3 Colonial Economies 4 Colonial Rule 5 Columbian Exchange 6 Conquest and Colonization 7 Enlightenment 8 Gender 9 Independence Movements 10 Indigenous Peoples 11 Inter-ethnic Relations 12 Language 13 Memorial Culture 14 Migration 15 Nation and State Building 16 Religion and Missionizing 17 Slavery 18 Unfree Labor Part II History and Society in the Americas in the 20th and 21st Century Introduction: History and Society in the Americas in the 20th and 21st Century. Inter-American Thresholds and Critical Key Concepts 19 Alter-Globalization 20 Biopolitics 21 Consumerism 22 Education 23 Ethnicity 24 Family 25 Freedom 26 Gender Identities 27 Health 28 Hybridity, Mestizaje, Creolité 29 Indigeneity 30 Intersectionality 31 Latinidad 32 Memory Politics 33 Modernization 34 Multiculturalism 35 Popular 36 Postcolonialism and Decoloniality 37 Race 38 Religious Beliefs 39 Social Movements 40 Socialism 41 Subcultures 42 Transnational Migration 43 Urbanization 44 Whiteness

This handbook explores the history and society of the Americas, placing particular emphasis on collective and intertwined experiences. Forty-four chapters cover a range of concepts and dynamics in the Americas from the colonial period until the present century.