The annual meeting of the Southwest Seminar on Colonial Latin America will take place at UC San Diego from October 5th to 7th, 2017. The Southwest Seminar is a collaborative effort among specialists from across the U.S. Southwest dedicated to promoting innovative approaches to the study of colonial Latin America. The Seminar’s annual meetings serve as venues to exchange ideas and to encourage collegiality and conviviality among colonial Latin Americanists of varied backgrounds and with diverse research interests. Participants will present new works in progress, including dissertation chapters, articles in development, or sections of larger works. The eminent Latin American historian Eric Van Young will serve as senior commentator for the 2017 meeting. In advance of the 500-year anniversary of native and Spanish encounters in Mesoamerica, the 2017 meeting’s theme—Beyond the Conquest: New Approaches to Ethnohistory of Colonial Latin America—will highlight works that consider innovative perspectives on indigenous studies and ethnohistory in colonial Latin America. The meeting will take place in the Seuss Room of the Geisel Library on Friday, October 6^th and Saturday, October 7^th. For a preliminary program and more information on the seminar please visit thesouthwestseminar.org. All talks are free and open to students, staff, faculty, and the general public. Meals and receptions are by invitation only. In conjunction with the seminar, the Institute of Arts and Humanities will sponsor a public talk within their Challenging Conversation Series on Thursday evening: “The Crisis of Commemoration: First Contacts in the Americas.” The talk seeks to spark dialogue on the first contact experiences between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans in the Americas, focusing on the continued debates around the celebrations and commemorations of Columbus and Cabrillo and the struggle to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day. The talk will take place at the Hojel Auditorium of the Americas at 6:00 p.m. on October 5^th. Local support for the 2017 meeting at UC San Diego came from the Division of Arts and Humanities, the Institute of Arts and Humanities (IAH), the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, Geisel Library, the History Department, the Graduate Division, and the Office of Research Affairs. The Southwest Seminar is supported by the Omohundro Institute for Early American History and Culture, Northern Arizona University, Texas Christian University, Texas State University, the University of Arizona, University of California-San Diego, University of Texas-El Paso, and Utah Valley University. Additional information on the Southwest Seminar can be found at thesouthwestsem