THIS COLLECTION OF SIX POSITION PAPERS ON LATIN AMERICA WAS PREPARED BY UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SPECIALISTS IN THE FIELD OF GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY, ECONOMICS, SOCIOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY, AND GOVERNMENT. EACH WAS ASKED TO WRITE A POSITION PAPER ON WHAT A HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE, OR A REASONABLY LITERATE ADULT, OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT LATIN AMERICA FROM THE STANDPOINT OF HIS FIELD. THEY WERE TO FOCUS ON THE BASIC IDEAS, THE KEY UNDERSTANDINGS, AND THE MAJOR GENERALIZATIONS. SUPPORTING DETAILS AND EXAMPLES WERE TO BE USED ONLY TO ILLUSTRATE THE LARGER IDEAS WITH NO INTENT OF PROVIDING AN EXHAUSTIVE TREATMENT. THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THESE EXPERTS AS TO WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW ABOUT LATIN AMERICA REPRESENT THEIR OWN PERSONAL JUDGMENTS. (TC)