This special issue of REHMLAC is dedicated to the papers presented at the two conferences on Freemasonry held at the University of California, Los Angeles in 2011 and 2013. Distinguished Professor Margaret Jacob, with the support of theGrand Lodge of California, coordinated these conferences as part of the Freemasonry and Civil Society program at UCLA.

One of the main objectives of the conferences was to make the scholarship on Freemasonry available for a general audience. Therefore in this first Hors série of the journal, our readers will find original works along with previously published —but revised and updated— pieces written by well-known specialists. English is the official language for this issue, since this was also the case for the conferences.

We are thankful to Dr. María Eugenia Vázquez Semadeni, the pioneer promoter of this Anglo and Ibero-American academic adventure and invited editor of this volume.