ABSTRACT
In 1982, when the International Comparative Literature Association (ICLA) officially declared inter-American literary studies to be a major new field of inquiry and made it the focus of its convention that year, it was certifying an approach to hemispheric literature that would change forever the ways we think about ‘America,’ Americans, and the very concepts of Americanity , americanité , americanidad , americanidade , and, most recently, américité . 1 Since that time, the field has grown dramatically, with scholars in a number of different nations, disciplines, and fields bringing their areas of expertise to bear on it. Márcio Bahia, for example, has examined both the question noted above (concerning ‘ Americanity ’ and its hemispheric equivalents) and why the English-speaking parts of the New World have tended to resist viewing the Americas as a cohesive and comprehensive unit while the Spanish-, Portuguese-, and French-speaking regions have been much more receptive of this view (Bahia 23; 27-32). 2 By 2015, however, all our American nations are involved, and inter-American literary studies have progressed to the point that three directions, or conceptual orientations, are characterizing its development: the American Studies/International American Studies approach, the Latin American literature approach, and the comparative literature approach. 3 Each has its own set of advantages and disadvantages, each recognizes the importance of Native America, and each is making major contributions to the field.
