Latin American Studies Resources
in the BSC Library

This guide includes some of the principal resources (electronic and print) for finding information about Latin American history, politics, literature, culture, and current events.

Jump to:

Encyclopedias Language Dictionaries 
  Country Information Books
  Historical & Political Sources Article Indexes & Databases
  Literary Sources Journals & Magazines
  Cultural Sources Current News Sources
  Statistical Sources Key Organizations
  Maps & Atlases Bibliographies and Web Portals 

 

General Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture.  Ref. F1406 .E53 1996 (5 vols.)
An authoritative work covering Latin American people, places, concepts and events.  Entries on individual countries focus on their political history.

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean.  Ref. F1406 .C36 1992
Includes sections on the physical environment, economy, peoples, history, politics and society, and culture of Latin America.

Britannica Online (http://search.eb.com - on-campus access only) 
While not specific to Latin America, Britannica offers basic overviews of  important events, countries, and public figures.

 

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Country Information

Country Studies (Library of Congress) http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html (some also available in print: GovDoc D 101.22:550- ).  
Excellent book-length studies of individual countries’ history, culture and politics.

Brief country profiles are also available at the following web sites:

Background Notes (U.S. Department of State).  http://www.state.gov/r/pa/bgn 

CIA World Factbook.  http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html 

Economist Country Briefingshttp://www.economist.com/countries 

Lonely Planet Destinationshttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations 

Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations (Ref. G63 .W67 2001) and the World Almanac (online through FirstSearch or in Ref. AY67 .N5 W7) contain fairly up-to-date summary information on countries.

The library also has encyclopedias and dictionaries devoted to specific countries, such as:

Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture Ref. F1210 .E63 1997 (vols. 1-2)

Milenios de Mexico. Ref. F1204 .M955 1999 (vols. 1-3)

Encyclopedia of Cuba. Ref. F1754 .E53 2003 (vols. 1-2) 

Dictionary of Cuba Ref. F1754 .S83 2001

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Historical & Political Sources

Cambridge History of Latin America.  Ref. F1410 .C1834 1984 (11 vols.)
An in-depth, authoritative survey of Latin American history from the conquest to the present day.

A Reference Guide to Latin American History Ref. F1410 .R395 2000
Presents significant events in Latin America through the end of the 20th century, chronologically and by topic; includes biographical sketches for important figures. 

Encyclopedia of Latin American Politics.  Ref. F1410 .E56 2002
Provides political profiles and histories of 20 Latin American countries, plus bibliographies for further study.

Diccionario de Política Latinoamericana del Siglo XX.  Ref. F1414 .N87 2001
A dictionary of people, events, political parties, international organizations, guerrilla movements, and other Latin American political phenomena, arranged alphabetically.

Latin America : A Political Dictionary.  Ref. F1406 .R67 1992 
Coverage of people, political parties, events, issues, and concepts related to politics in Latin America.

Political Database of the Americas (Georgetown University).  http://www.georgetown.edu/pdba  
Includes information on the constitutions, elections, governance, civil society, and governmental institutions of Latin American countries. 

Amnesty International Library  http://web.amnesty.org/library/engindex - including Amnesty's Annual Reports
Human Rights Watch: Americas  http://www.hrw.org/americas
These two websites provide information on human rights around the world (including Latin America, of course).

 

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Literary Sources

A Sourcebook for Hispanic Literature and Language : A Selected, Annotated Guide to Spanish, Spanish-American, and United States Hispanic Bibliography, Literature, Linguistics, Journals, and Other Source Materials (3rd ed.)  Ref. PC4071 .B55 1995

The subtitle thoroughly describes the content of this carefully compiled and useful bibliography.

Guide to Reference Works for the Study of the Spanish Language and Literature and Spanish American Literature (2nd ed.).  Ref. PC4071 .W66 1997
A guide to bibliographies, indexes, dictionaries, and other resources for studying the literature and language of Latin American countries (and Spain).

 

Cambridge History of Latin American Literature.  PQ7081 .A1 C35 1996 (3 vols.)

A comprehensive, authoritative survey of Latin American literature from pre-Columbian times through 1990.  The third volume includes an extensive bibliography.

 

Latin American Literature and Its TimesRef. PN50 .M625 vol.1

Provides a brief analysis and historical context for some of the major works of Latin American literature.

 

Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature [print and electronic resource].  Ref. PQ7081 .A1 E56 1997
Information on Latin American writers, literary works, and topics, including survey articles on individual countries. 

 

The Latin American Short Story : An Annotated Guide to Anthologies and Criticism.  Ref. PQ7082 .S5 L31 1992

An impressive guide to general, regional, and country-specific anthologies and criticism of Latin American short stories.  Indexed by author, critic, title, and theme.

 

Literature Resource Center - available from the BSC Indexes & Databases page.
This database contains extensive biographical and critical information on major Latin American writers, as well as bibliographies, full text and excerpted critical essays, and links to selected websites.

 

Hispanic Literature CriticismRef.  PQ6039 .H5 1994 (2 vols.)
Selected excerpts of criticism of the works of selected contemporary Latin American authors; some of these also appear in the Literature Resource Center (see above).

 

Latin American Writers Ref. PQ7081 .A1 L37 1989 (3 vols. + supplement).

Biographical sketches of some of Latin America's most renowned writers, from 1492 forward.  Includes selected bibliographies of the writers' works and of critical studies.  Most of this information is also in Literature Resource Center (see above).

 

Spanish American Authors: The Twentieth Century.  Ref. PQ7081.3 .F57 1992

Biographical and bibliographical information for more than 330 significant "literary creators" from Latin America.

 
Modern Latin-American Fiction Writers. First and second series.  Ref. PS129 .D48 (vols. 113 and 145)

Bio-bibliographical entries on Latin American authors.  This information may also be found in the  Literature Resource Center (see above).

 

Contemporary Latin American Fiction: An Annotated Bibliography.  Ref. PQ7082 .N7 B76 1989
A somewhat dated annotated bibliography of criticism and interpretation of some of the major Latin American authors.

 

Spanish American Women Writers: A Bio-Bibliographical Source BookRef. PQ7081 .L7 S6 1990

Offers information on the lives, major themes, and criticism of more than 50 women writers.

 

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Cultural Sources

Encyclopedia of World Cultures.  Ref. GN307 .E53 1991 (10 vols.;  v. 7 = South America; v. 8 = Middle America and the Caribbean)
Includes information on the economic, family, sociopolitical and religious orientations  of different cultural groups in Latin America.

Culture and Customs of… [Country] (check BSC Library Catalog for call number)
A series of book length studies of the culture and customs of various Latin American countries, published by Greenwood Press.

Cultural Profiles Project http://www.settlement.org/cp 

A set of online profiles of life and customs in countries around the world, developed in association with the University of Toronto.

 

Dictionary of Twentieth Century Culture: Hispanic Culture of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.  
Ref. F1234 .H794 1996
Offers brief entries on significant cultural themes and figures from 20th century Latin America.

These encyclopedias offer insight into MesoAmerican cultures, both ancient and contemporary:

 

Oxford Encyclopedia of MesoAmerican Culture.  Ref. F1218.6 .O95 2001 (vols.1-2)

 

Encyclopedia of Ancient MesoAmerica.  Ref. F1219 .B932 1996

 

Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America: An EncyclopediaRef. F1218.6 .A73 2001

Information on the indigenous peoples of Latin America may be found in the following sources:

 

The Indians of Central and South America : An Ethnohistorical Dictionary.  Ref. F1434 .O45 1991

 

Handbook of Middle American Indians.  F1434 .H3 (vols. 1-16 + supplements)

 

Handbook of South American Indians.  F2229 .S75 (vols. 1-7)

For information on the music and art of Latin America, try consulting the following sources:

 

Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Ref. ML100 .G16 1998 (10 vols. + CDs; v. 2 covers Latin America and the 

Caribbean)  

Grove Music Online http://www.grovemusic.com (BSC access only) - excellent treatment of a wide range of music topics.

 

Grove Dictionary of Art.  Ref. N31 .D5 1996 (34 vols.) - more first-rate Grove's coverage of art and artists.

 

Maya Sculpture Rubbings Database http://www.precolumbia.com/rub/rubbingsdatabase.html - wow!

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Statistical Sources

 

Statistical Information from ECLAC, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean - http://www.eclac.cl/estadisticas/default.asp?idioma=IN.  
Includes the full text of their Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean.  

 

Center for Latin American Economics - http://www.dallasfed.org/htm/latin/center.html.  
A Federal Reserve site aiming "to promote public understanding of economic policy issues related to Latin America."   

 

InterAmerican Development Bank - http://www.iadb.org.  
A wealth of economic data and policy information.  

 

LatinFocus - http://www.latin-focus.com.  
Economic indicators and forecasts for Latin America.   

 

LADARK, the Latin American Development Archive - http://www.jhu.edu/~soc/ladark.html.  
Contains data sets and other information for social scientists researching Latin American development.  

 

United Nations Statistics Division - http://unstats.un.org/unsd
Includes links to their own statistical databases and to additional statistical information from UN agencies such as the IMF, UNESCO, WHO, and the World Bank.  . 

 

International Historical Statistics : The Americas, 1750-1993.  Ref. HA175 .M55 1998.
An excellent print source for historical statistics of all sorts.

 

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Maps & Atlases

The following maps and atlases are specific to Latin America:

Atlas of South America.  Atlas Case G1700 .B7 1991

Atlas of Central America and the Caribbean.  Ref. G1550 .D5 1985

Atlas of Columbus and the Great Discoveries.  Ref. G1100 .N43 1990

Maps of the Americas (from the Perry-Castañeda Library, UT-Austin) http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas.html

In addition, these web resources may be of use to Latin Americanists seeking geographical and spatial information:

HRW World Atlas http://go.hrw.com/atlas/norm_htm/world.htm

Merriam-Webster's Atlas  http://www.m-w.com/maps/moremapsnyt.html

Atlapedia Online (political and physical maps)  http://www.atlapedia.com/online/map_index.htm

All the World's Maps (includes city maps)  http://www.embassyworld.com/maps/maps.html  

World Gazetteer http://www.gazetteer.de/home.htm 

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Language Dictionaries

Spanish dictionaries are located in the PC4600 section and Portuguese dictionaries in the PC 5300 section of the Reference collection at BSC (with some in the circulating collection as well).  Among the best:

Diccionario de la Lengua Española (Real Academia Española, 21st ed.).  Ref. PC4625 .A34 1992 (2 vols.)

The University of Chicago Spanish Dictionary : Spanish-English, English-SpanishRef. PC4640 .U5 2002

The Oxford Spanish Dictionary : Spanish-English/English-Spanish.  Ref. PC4640 .O94 2003

Michaelis Dicionário Prático : Inglês-Português, Português-Inglês / Michaelis Concise Dictionary : English-Portuguese, Portuguese-English.  Ref. PC5333 .M583 1987B

Michaelis Dicionário IlustradoRef. PC5333 .N6 1993

Useful online dictionaries and translations are available at :

Ultralingua http://www.ultralingua.net 

yourDictionary.com http://www.yourdictionary.com 

Onelook Dictionary Search http://onelook.com 

Eurodicautom http://europa.eu.int/eurodicautom/Controller  

Altavista Babel Fish Translation (rough translation service) http://babelfish.altavista.com

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Books

The BSC Library has a growing collection of books in the realm of Latin American studies, selected by the faculty of the College.  You may search for these books through the BSC Library Catalog, available from the Library homepage.  

Can't find what you're looking for in our library?  Try searching WorldCat, a union catalog of major libraries in the U.S. and throughout the world.  Or perhaps one of these major Latin American collections (listed by UNC-Chapel Hill) has what you need.  BSC students, faculty and staff can use the Library's free interlibrary loan service to request books and other materials from other libraries.

 

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Indexes & Databases

Articles may be found by consulting resources on the BSC Library's Indexes & Databases page.  Useful databases include:

 Specific to Latin America:

HAPI, the Hispanic American Periodicals Index (1970 – present) – indexes articles and other works appearing in over 400 social science and humanities journals. 

Handbook of Latin American Studies online (1936 – present) – an index to books, journal articles, conference papers, and electronic resources in Latin American Studies.

LAPTOC Latin American Periodicals Tables of Contents - searchable tables of contents of 800 Latin American journals.

CLASE (1975 - present) - an index to Latin American journals in the social sciences and humanities produced by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

PERIÓDICA (1978 - present) - an index to Latin American science & technology journals sponsored by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Virtual Health Library Databases - sponsored by BIREME (Brazil), the Pan American Health Organization, and the World Health Organization.

For research in political science, history, or literature of Latin America:

Social Sciences Full Text (1983 – present) indexes articles from several hundred social science journals, and includes the full text of many of these articles from 1995 forward.

WorldWide Political Science Abstracts (1975 - present) indexes and abstracts the international serials literature in political science and its complementary fields (such as international relations, law, and public administration/policy).

PAIS (via FirstSearch - password required)(1972 - present online, 1950 - present in print) indexes and abstracts articles relating to public affairs from several thousand periodicals, books, conference proceedings, government documents, and book chapters.

Humanities FullText (1984 - present) indexes articles from several hundred humanities journals; includes the full text of many articles from 1995 forward.

Historical Abstracts (1955 – present) indexes and abstracts books and articles from over 1700 history journals.

MLA Bibliography (1963 - present online, 1921 - present in print) provides access to literary research in 4,000 journals and series, as well as books, working papers, conference proceedings, and other formats.

Some of BSC's general indexes and databases may also yield relevant articles, particularly on current situations and issues.

Spanish language databases:

Ethnic News Watch -  a searchable database of full text magazines, journals and newspapers from the ethnic and minority  presses in English and Spanish.

Informe - includes the full text of more than 60 Spanish-language and bilingual periodicals.

Lexis-Nexis Academic - Spanish Language News.  Select News (in the left-hand menu), then Non-English Language News (in category) and Spanish Language News (in news source) to access the contents of approximately 75 news sources in Spanish.  

 

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Journals & Magazines

The library subscribes to a number of print and electronic journals in the area of Latin American studies, including:  

Américas (1949 - present in BSC Library Catalog; 1990 - present in Expanded Academic ASAP)

The Americas (1957/58 - present in BSC Library Catalog; 2000- present in Project Muse)

Art nexus (1997 - present in Wilson OmniFile)

Bilingual review (1991 to present in Academic Search Elite)

Bulletin hispanique (1964, 1966 - 1984 in BSC Library Catalog)

Bulletin of Hispanic studies (1964 - present in BSC Library Catalog)

Business Mexico (1990 - present in LexisNexis Academic)

Business Venezuela (1997 - present in LexisNexis Academic)

Chasquí (2002 - present in Expanded Academic ASAP)

Colonial Latin American review (1996 - present in Academic Search Elite)

CR: The new centennial review (2002 - present in Project Muse)

Economía (2000- present in Project Muse)

Gaceta (Fondo de Cultura Económica de Mexico) (Current issues in BSC Library Catalog)
Hispania (1940 - present in BSC Library Catalog)

Hispanic (1992 - present in Academic Search Elite)

Hispanic American historical review (1918 - present in BSC Library Catalog; 1997 to 1 year ago in Academic Search Elite)
Hispanic journal of behavioral sciences (1995 to 1 year ago in Periodical Abstracts Research II)

Hispanic review (1990 - present in Academic Search Elite)

Hopscotch (2000 - present in Project Muse)

Inter-American economic affairs (1966/67 - 1985 in BSC Library Catalog)

Journal of interamerican studies and world affairs (previously Journal of inter-American studies) (1959/60 - present in BSC Library Catalog; 1990 - 2000 in Academic Search Elite)

Journal of Latin American anthropology (1999 - present in Wilson OmniFile: Full Text Mega Edition

Journal of Latin American studies (1993 - present in Expanded Academic ASAP)

Latin American antiquity (2003 - present in Expanded Academic ASAP)

Latin American literary review (1997- present in Periodical Abstracts Research II)

Latin American music review / Revista de música latinoamericana ( 03/01/1996 to 1 year ago in Expanded Academic ASAP; 2001- present in Project Muse)

Latin American perspectives (1994 - present in BSC Library Catalog; 1994 -1998 in Expanded Academic ASAP; 1998 - present in EBSCOhost EJS)

Latin American politics and society (1994 - present in Periodical Abstracts Research II)

Latin American research review (1992 - present in BSC Library Catalog; 1990 - present in Academic Search Elite)

Latino(a) research review (previously Latino review of books) (1996 - present in BSC Library Catalog)

Mexican studies (1995 - present in Expanded Academic ASAP)

NACLA report on the Americas (1993 - present in Expanded Academic ASAP)

Nepantla: Views from South (2000 - present in Project Muse)

Revista de historia de América (1960 - present in BSC Library Catalog)

Revista hispánica moderna (1963 -1978/79 in BSC Library Catalog)
Revista interamericana de bibliotecología (1994 - present in Wilson OmniFile)

Romance notes (1959/60 - present in BSC Library Catalog)
Studies in Latin American popular culture (1990 - present in Academic Search Elite)

To see if the BSC Library has a particular journal (in print or electronically), search the Periodicals @ BSC list.  
If BSC does not have the publication you need, do not hesitate to request it via interlibrary loan.  
For freely available periodicals, see LANIC's Magazines listing at http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/epub

 

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Current News Sources

Prensa Latina http://www.prensalatina.com 
Links to online sites for Latin American media (newspapers, magazines, radio and television).

 

LANIC links to Media & Communication in Latin America
Includes links to newspapers, radio, television, magazines, and other types of information sources. 

 

Latin World - Regions http://www.latinworld.com
Another source of links to online multimedia sources, including news, magazines, music and art. 

 

Latin American Database http://ladb.unm.edu
Weekly news summaries for Mexico and Central and South America.

 

ISLA Information Services Latin America.  http://www.igc.org/isla/Links/links.html
Links to alternative media and alternative perspectives on Latin American issues.

CNN en español - Américas. http://www.cnnenespanol.com/americas
Coverage of the latest events deemed newsworthy by CNN.

 

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Key Organizations

LASA Latin American Studies Association. http://lasa.international.pitt.edu 
The primary professional association for Latin Americanists.

NACLA North American Congress on Latin America. http://www.nacla.org 
A non-profit organization devoted to providing information on U.S.-Latin American relations as well as political, social and economic issues.

OAS Organization of American States. http://www.oas.org 
An intergovernmental organization founded in 1948, devoted to the cooperative pursuit of democracy, human rights, peace, free trade and development. 

SALALM Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials. http://www.salalm.org 
An independent organization devoted to helping librarians, educators, and publishers build valuable and accessible collections of Latin American and Caribbean materials.

WOLA Washington Office on Latin America. http://www.wola.org 
A self-described "nonprofit policy, research and advocacy organization working to advance democracy, human rights and social justice in Latin America and the Caribbean." 

 

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Bibliographies and Web Portals 

The following print bibliographies enumerate many of the scholarly resources available to Latin Americanists: 

Latin America and the Caribbean : A Critical Guide to Research Sources.   Ref. F1408 .L3225 1992

Latin American Studies: A Basic Guide to Sources (2nd ed.).  Ref. F1408 .L324 1990

Latin American Studies : An Annotated Bibliography of Core WorksRef. F1408 .C536 2002

LAVA - Latin American Video Archives.  http://www.lavavideo.org 

Below are some key websites for locating online information on Latin America:

LANIC - Latin American Network Information Center http://lanic.utexas.edu
The University of Texas at Austin's gateway to "Internet-based information to, from, or on Latin America," in existence since 1992.  Includes links to news sources (some of them in English), as well as historical, political, economic, geographical, and general information for Latin American countries.

Internet Resources for Latin America - http://lib.nmsu.edu/subject/bord/laguia
The University of New Mexico’s guide to numerous information resources for Latin American studies.

Hispanic Reading Room (Library of Congress) - http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/hispanic 

Latin America Internet Resource Links (UIUC)  http://door.library.uiuc.edu/lat/links.html

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