This is the first issue of our journal to appear under its new name, the Journal of Global South Studies (JGSS). In turn, the new journal name conforms to the association name change - to the Association of Global South Studies (AGSS)--enacted following a vote of the members in the first few months of the year, 2016. The idea of a name change was initiated by the Executive Council at the annual conference meeting in Quito, Ecuador in November of 2015 in response to a growing choms of voices expressing concern that our name needed to be updated. While the label made sense in the 1970s and 1980s, it increasingly acquired negative inferences and became a decidedly pejorative epithet in the minds of many people.
Naturally, the change of name was not universally popular; the Association name has included the term "Third World" since 1983. Some members did not want that to change. However, based on the discussion and open vote that ensued, a majority of members appeared to believe that the term had become anachronistic and that it carries too many negative connotations that are dissonant with our values as an association. Accordingly, their vote ratified the initiative of the leadership.
While we cannot be sure how Dr. Isaacs would have felt about our new name, those who knew him understand that he was always open-minded and willing to grow. Moreover, I can say with absolute certainty that no one who voted for the name change intended any disrespect to our universally beloved founder....