Reaching for the Vision: The ATWS/AGSS Story

Abstract

Harold Isaacs' Vision and World Perspectives Association of Global South Studies (AGSS), the professional organization formerly known as the Association of World Studies (ATWS), originated because of the vision and 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 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. Over the years, Professor Isaacs always considered the World in Perspective series to be very important and he continued it until his death in 2015. Scores of scholars gave freely of their expertise, many in repeated appearances, in exchange for little more than travel expenses and an extremely modest honorarium. Eventually, many of the programs were taped and rebroadcast on community access television. sessions were always well attended with a significant community presence due to the outreach efforts that Isaacs made during his many years in Americus. World in Perspective series was critical to the founding of ATWS because of Professor Isaacs' Georgia based speaker contacts. Some of these individuals later became the core of the new organization's first professional conferences as well as co-founders and officers of the formal organization. Over the years, ATWS, and now AGSS, has benefited from the efforts of many people who gave, and continue to give, generously of themselves. Some individuals were especially key and the story of the organization's growth is clearly reflected in their participation. World in Perspective program was also critical to the foundational objectives of ATWS which continue to define the organization. first of these objectives is to provide forums where problems of the World (or the Global South) can be openly discussed and analyzed from a variety of academic perspectives. Forums such as this provide a place to understand those forces impacting global development and the destiny of so many people and nations. next goal is the promotion of professional development not just through forums of discussion, but by encouraging research, publication, and classroom instruction. third goal called for the facilitation of all forms of communication by sponsoring activities of various sorts that would bring people together. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is the goal of enhancing the quality of life for the peoples of the third world either by ATWS/AGSS or in cooperation with private and public institutions. overall story of ATWS/AGSS has constantly been the efforts to fulfill each of these four goals. Members of the Association, whether individually or collectively, have always strived to do what they can to promote these four goals that Harold Isaacs enunciated back in the early 1980s. challenge is as important today as it was then. Early Key Members and Activities One such early member was Bill Head, the Chief Historian at Robins Air Force Base, who saw an announcement for the second meeting in 1984. Head's Ph.D. work was in U.S. foreign relations with East and Southeast Asia. Among his areas of research was modern Chinese history and he mistakenly assumed that the Harold Isaacs to whom he wrote was a well-known China specialist. In a follow-up phone call Isaacs clarified who he was and the two had a good laugh as they formed an immediate bond. Head presented at that 1984 conference. He also collaborated with Isaacs on dozens of World in Perspective meetings in Americus. …