— The Peoples of Las Vegas, One City, Many Faces

— More Peoples of Las Vegas, One City, Many Faces

Thomas Wright received his B.A. from Pomona College (1963). He took his junior year in Peru, which began his life-long interest in Latin America. He went to the University of California, Berkeley for the M.A. (1964) and Ph.D. (1971). He is a distinguished professor of history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Wright teaches a variety of courses on Latin America, including a two semester lower division survey of Latin American history. Upper division courses include History of Mexico, History of the Andean Region, Revolution and Reaction in Contemporary Latin America, and The Mexican Revolution. At the graduate level, he offers the colloquium and research seminar on Modern Latin America. He also teaches occasional seminars for the Honors College.

Wright’s research interests focus on twentieth century Latin American political history. His books include Latin America in the Era of the Cuban Revolution (rev. ed., 2001); Flight from Chile: Voices of Exile (co-author Rody Oņate, 1998); Food, Politics, and Society in Latin America (co-editor John C. Super, 1985); and Landowners and Reform in Chile: The Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura, 1919-1940 (1982). Two of these have been published in Spanish translation. He is currently working on a book on state terrorism and human rights in Chile and Argentina.

In addition, he has published journal articles, book chapters, and entries in proceedings and encyclopedias on various Latin American topics.