Reaching for the Vision: The ATWS/AGSS Story

Abstract

The Association of Global South Studies (AGSS), the professional organization formerly known as the Association of Third World Studies (ATWS), originated because of the vision and the life's work of Professor Harold Isaacs of Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Georgia. Isaacs was a professor of Latin American history, who wanted to spread civic awareness of the "Non-Western" world beyond the classroom. He was also active in local politics and was a member of "The Peanut Brigade" during the 1976 campaign for Jimmy Carter. For the world beyond American politics, he created an occasional lecture series, "Third World in Perspective," that would involve the broader Americus community, as well as the on-campus student body and faculty.