Selected Publications

Books  

• Miniature Messages: The Semiotics and Politics of Latin American Postage Stamps.  Durham: Duke University Press, July 2008.
• Latin American History through its Art and Literature. Acton, MA: Copley Custom Textbooks, July 2007.  Includes a CD-RoM.
• Latin America, digital equivalent of a 300 page reference book. Is a segment of “History Resource Center: The Modern World”, published on-line by The Gale Group, Woodbridge, CT, 2001.
• Introduction to Latin American Literature: a Bilingual Anthology. Lanham: University Press of America, October 1994. Includes associated computer software. Includes a CD-RoM.
• The Central American Peace Process, 1983-1991: Sheathing Swords and Building Confidence. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1992.
• Introduction to Spanish Translation. Lanham: University Press of America, March 1992. Includes associated computer software.
• Antarctica and South American Geopolitics: Frozen Lebensraum. New York: Praeger, 1988.
• Regional Cooperation for Development and the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes in Latin America. Editor and author of two chapters. Published for the International Peace Academy (New York) by  Martinus Nijhoff publishers, Boston, 1987.
• Quarrels Among Neighbors: Geopolitics and Conflict in South America. New York: Praeger, 1985.

Selected recent articles:

• "Popular Culture in the Perón Years: a Philatelic Approach" in Studies in the Popular Culture of Latin America, Summer 2008.
• "The Politics and Semiotics of the Smallest Icons of Popular Culture: Latin American Postage Stamps", Latin American Research Review, Vol. 40, no. 1, February 2005.

Professional Services

• On numerous occasions in areas of specialization, with: U.S. Institute of Peace, the Fitzgibbon-Johnson Survey of Latin American Democracy, the National Science Foundation, The Inter-American Dialogue, Foreign Policy magazine, the International Peace Academy, the Access Resource Guide, "Project Links", the Federation of American Scientists, the International Military Encyclopedia, the National Geographic Society, the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America (the Kissinger Commission), the Inter-American Defense College, the District of Columbia School of Law, the Organization of American States, the International Relations program of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, Argentina, the Henry L. Stimson Center, EDUCOM, the State Department's Foreign Service Institute, the Media Center of Goucher College, the Carter Center in Atlanta, and several U.S. and Canadian commercial firms.
• Was an expert witness at a civil trial involving a researcher in Latin America, Arlington County Court. Provided information to "the Knoxville Eleven", a group of activists arrested in Knoxville during a protest against President Reagan's Central American policy.
• Assisted various U.S. Congressmen and their staffs on issues dealing with Antarctica and peace in Central America.
• Lead scholar and consultant for an NEH grant to incorporate Hispanic cultural materials in the curriculum, Valencia Community College, Kissimmee, FL. Involved in advanced planning, curriculum design, and two two-day workshops in Kissimmee, FL, summer 2002.
• Consultant and instructor in ten iterations of an immersion Spanish course offered by Multilingual Solutions of Bethesda. Gave lectures on Spanish translation, Mexican culture, art and history, and US-Latin American relations.

Films/Documentaries

• "Ademanes Españoles" (Spanish gestures), Department of Foreign Languages, West Point.
• "Che Guevara - una Biografía" (in Spanish and English), Department of Foreign Languages, West Point
• "The Violence in Colombia", Department of Earth, Space and Graphic Sciences, West Point

Professional Presentations

• Presentation, "The 1982 Falklands/Malvinas War", at the U.S. Southern Command, Miami.
• Lectures (and service as a guide) on board the ships “Explorer”, "World Discoverer", and "Amsterdam" during fourteen cruises to Antarctica and the Falklands/Malvinas: “Antarctic History”, “Antarctic Politics”, “History of Whaling”, “Falklands/Malvinas”, “The 1982 War”", "Antarctica", "Chile", "Argentina", "Brazil", "Charles Darwin" and "Cross Cultural Comparisons". Lectures (and service as a guide) on board the ship "Veendam" on a cruise to various Caribbean islands, Colombia, the Panama Canal, Central America and Mexico: history and culture of the various countries visited.
• State Department Foreign Service Institute: four to six lectures per year on topics: "History of US-Latin American Relations", "Argentina and Chile", "Antarctica".
• Inter-American Defense College: one to three per year on subjects such as: "The Inter-American System", "Inter-American Military System", "Antarctica".
• Directed seminars and presented lectures on United Nations peace-keeping simulations for the International Peace Academy at the Javeriana University, Bogotá, Colombia, Mexico City and Oaxaca, Mexico.
• Paper, "Antarctica, Malvinas/Falklands, and the South Atlantic" at a conference on U.S.-Argentine relations sponsored by the Argentine Foreign Ministry, Buenos Aires.
• Presentation, "El Sistema Interamericano", public lecture series sponsored by the Escuela de Ciencias Internacionales, Universidad Central de Quito (Ecuador) under a grant from the Organization of American States. In Quito, Ecuador, February.
• Public lecture, "U.S. Strategic Interests in Latin America" Smithsonian Institution Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars series, at the Smithsonian Institution.
• Testimony on peace-keeping in the Central American context, before the President's National Bipartisan Commission on Central America (the Kissinger Commission), at the State Department.
• Lectures on "The Inter-American System", "US and Latin America" in Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay sponsored by the Fulbright Commission.

Media Appearances

• Over time at AU  Child has been interviewed or consulted on numerous occasions by the print, radio and television media on a variety of issues dealing with Latin America and U.S. policies in the area. These have included several radio talk shows; Australian, French and Brazilian TV; German, Canadian and Australian radio; the Voice of America; all three major TV/radio news networks; the Knight-Ridder and several other newspaper chains; Los Angeles Times; Newsday; The; Cable News Network; and ABC News Nightline. Washington Post: On 2 July 1983 was featured in, p. 1, in connection with protests against U.S. polices in Central America.
• During the invasion of Grenada (October 1983) was interviewed or consulted by The Washington Post, ABC News, Newsday, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television, and several radio stations.
• During the Malvinas/Falklands crisis (2 April to 15 June 1982), was interviewed or consulted over 70 times by various U.S. and foreign news media. This included appearances on CBS evening News, an NBC News special, ABC News Nightline, Cable News Network (CNN), Canadian, British and Australian Broadcasting Corporation TV and radio, the Spanish language TV Network (SIN), and various radio interviews, including several on the Voice of America. Was quoted numerous times in print, including in the Christian Science Monitor, the Miami Herald, and Nación (Argentina) and Veja (Brazil). Appeared three times on the MacNeill-Lehrer Newshour.
• In connection with publication of the 1988 book on Antarctica, was interviewed four times on radio and television, including WAMU-FM ("Mike Cuthbert Show"), and CNN national TV ("International Hour").

Congressional Testimony

• Testimony on peace-keeping in the Central American context, before the President's National Bipartisan Commission on Central America (the Kissinger Commission), at the State Department, 22 September 1983.
• Testimony on peace-keeping in Central America, House Foreign Affairs Committee, 1978

Research Interests

Dr Child's research has focused on cultural studies  and conflict resolution in Latin America, to include South American Antarctica. He has received grants from the U.S. Institute of Peace and the International Peace Academy (United Nations) for research dealing with negotiations in Antarctica and the Falklands/Malvinas, and peace-keeping and confidence-building measures in Central and South America. His interest in high latitudes has taken him to Alaska, and on fourteen trips as staff lecturer and guide aboard expedition cruise vessels to Antarctica and sub-Antarctic islands, including South Georgia and the Malvinas/Falklands Islands.

Grants and Sponsored Research

• US Institute of Peace, “Computer-Assisted Negotiation Simulation on Antarctica and the Falklands/Malvinas Islands”, 1995-1998, $30,000.
• Recipient of a 1994 Consortium of College and University Media Centers research award for investigating the effects of computer-assisted instruction and using media in several general education and Latin American studies courses.
• Awarded a $21,500 grant from the U.S. Institute of Peace, July 1989, to research "The Central American Peace Process, 1983-1989: Military Aspects of Verification, Peacekeeping and Confidence-Building Measures".
• Contract for $2,000 from the State Department's Foreign Service Institute to develop computer software for teaching Latin American geography. Completed July 1992.
• Participated in the U.S. Agency for International Development grant dealing with the Latin American military administered by Dean Louis Goodman of SIS. The grant included the publication of a book (1989) with a chapter on geopolitical thinking and the military.
• Participated in a National Endowment for the Humanities grant awarded to the American University College of Arts and Sciences for General Education. Attended a three-week faculty seminar and was granted a one-course release to develop a new General Education course on "Latin America: History, Art, Literature".
• From the International Peace Academy for research on the use of confidence-building measures in Central America, and  the applicability of peacekeeping.
• From the Organization of American States for a study of the effectiveness of the Rio Treaty.
• From the Hoover Institution for research into geopolitics and conflict in South America.
• From the Atlantic Council of the United States for an analysis of strategic issues in the Caribbean Basin.

Professional Certifications

• Certified (on the basis of examination) as Spanish-English and English-Spanish translator by the American Translators Association.
• Military parachutist and mountaineering instructor (served with the 101st Airborne Division,).
• Morse code (CW) operator. Held amateur radio licenses LU6DFB (Argentina), and WN1NRI (U.S.)

Multimedia

He has authored CD-RoM programs on a wide variety of Latin American studies topics, such as “Latin American Painters”; “Antarctica”; “Falklands/Malvinas Islands”; "Latin America: History, Art, Literature" (supplement to a privately published textbook in English and Spanish, and EDUCOM award winner); "Spanish-English Idiomatic Expressions" (in Spanish and English); "Intro to the Geography of Latin America" (published by Gessler)