The Introduction situates the concept of the wider Atlantic at the intersection of various critical/theoretical discourses including area studies, postcolonial theory, and debates on globalization and the Global South. Briefly outlining the history of the Atlantic studies field and its limitations, particularly from the perspective of scholars working on Latin America, Spain, and Southern Europe, it makes a case for comparative, cross-linguistic analyses of literature, culture, and politics. Approaches such as those included in the volume thus present a view of the Atlantic as a fractal space, constantly moving between localized, national, and more broadly conceived understandings of culture and community.