Library Guides: Latin American Studies: All Disciplines: Get Started with Reference

About

This section includes the top reference databases and books (overviews, bibliographies, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and more) to help you get started with your research.

Prefer to browse in print? Visit the Reference Collection at The Latin American Library (4th floor of Howard-Tilton Memorial Library). Use Library Search to look for specialized reference works in our stacks.

Country Overviews

CIA World Factbook
The World Factbook provides basic information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 266 world entities.

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) This link opens in a new window
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Business and political intelligence for more than 200 countries. Reports and Services include: Country Reports, Country Forecast, Global Outlook, Commodities, Industry Briefing, CountryData and Market Indicators & Forecasts.

South America, Central America and the Caribbean by Europa Publications (Editor)
Call Number: Latin American Library (Reference) - F1408.29 .S68
Publication Date: Updated Yearly
Excellent print resource for detailed and up-to-date country overviews. Located in The Latin American Library Reference section (Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, 4th Floor).

Bibliographies

These bibliographies have been curated by experts. They are designed to help you identify the most important works on a given topic, rather than 'stabbing in the dark' with keywords in databases and on the internet.

Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window
Expert-curated guides to the most important sources for diverse topics, with editorial commentary to show how the cited sources are interrelated. Tulane subscribes to: American Literature, Architecture Planning & Preservation, Art History, Atlantic History, Cinema & Media Studies, Classics, Latin American Studies, Medieval Studies, Music, Philosophy, Renaissance & Reformation and Urban Studies
HLAS (Handbook of Latin American Studies) Web This link opens in a new window
The Handbook is a bibliography on Latin America consisting of works selected and annotated by scholars. Edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress, the multidisciplinary Handbook alternates annually between the social sciences and the humanities. Find the most recent handbooks in print in The Latin American Library Reference Section, Z1605 .H26 (Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, 4th Floor)

History

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History This link opens in a new window
The Oxford Research Encyclopedia (ORE) of Latin American History offer synopses of key historical topics and themes spanning Latin America and the Caribbean. Each encyclopedia article includes overview information, a discussion of the scholarly literature, a list of key primary sources, links to digital resources, and suggestions for further reading.
Cambridge Histories Online This link opens in a new window
Full text access to texts of the Cambridge Histories series, with up to date and authoritative scholarly content. Series of interest to search include: "Cambridge History of Latin America," "Cambridge Economic History of Latin America," and "Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas."

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture by Barbara A. Tenenbaum (Editor); Georgette M. Dorn (Editor)
Publication Date: 2008
Multi-volume encyclopedia. Use "Search within Publication" box to find articles of interest.

Cultural Studies

The Dictionary of Latin American Cultural Studies
Excellent conceptual reference work containing 54 entries defining and explaining generally accepted cultural studies terms as well as those specific to the study of Latin American culture.
The Cambridge Companion to Modern Latin American Culture
Specially-commissioned essays analyze Latin American history, politics, art and literature from the nineteenth century to the present and reveal the common heritage of pre-Columbian and colonial Latin America
The Cambridge Companion to Modern Spanish Culture
Offers a comprehensive account of modern Spanish culture from its beginnings in the Revolution of 1868 to the present day. Experts analyze the historical and political background of modern Spain, the culture of major regions including Castile, Catalonia, and the Basque Country, and the country's literature. There are studies of painting, sculpture, architecture, cinema, dance, music, and the modern media.
The Oxford Handbook of Latino Studies
Twenty-five essays by leading and emerging scholars discuss and reconsider a variety of key themes and issues, including the Chicano Movement, gender and race relations, the changes in demographics, the tension between rural and urban communities, immigration, the legacy of colonialism, language identity and the controversy surrounding Spanglish, and meditations on popular culture and the lasting power of literature.
Diccionario de términos críticos de la literatura y la cultura en América Latina
La propuesta de compendiar este diccionario de autoría colectiva surgió del interés y la necesidad de reflexionar sobre el léxico especializado en el área de los estudios de la cultura y literatura latinoamericanas. Los términos seleccionados remiten a problemas, contextos y áreas geoculturales diversas y, en ese sentido, conforman un amplio mapa de la crítica latinoamericana.

Literature

Dictionary of Literary Biography This link opens in a new window
Search by author's name. Includes more than 16,000 biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres.
Scribner Writers Series This link opens in a new window
Search by author's name. Includes several volumes on Latin American Writers.

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture
Provides a comprehensive, multidisciplinary view of Latin American history and culture from prehistoric times to the present. Covers cultural issues and includes numerous biographical profiles of important figures in politics, letters and the arts.
The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature. Volume 1: Discovery to Modernism
Begins with pre-Columbian traditions and the first contact with European culture, and continues through to the end of the nineteenth century. New World historiography, epic poetry, theater, the novel, and the essay form are among the areas covered in this comprehensive and authoritative treatment.
The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature. Volume 2: The Twentieth Century
The novel, poetry, autobiographical narrative, the short story, Afro-Hispanic American literature, theater, and Chicano literature are among the areas treated in this wide-ranging volume.
The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature. Volume 3: Brazilian Literature
Covers the literature and literary historiography of Brazil from the colonial period to the 1990's. Includes chapters on prose, the novel, short story, poetry, modernism, theater, and popular literature
The Cambridge History of Latin American Women's Literature
The Cambridge History of Latin American Women’s Literature explores the lettered production of women from the ancient indigenous worlds up to the beginning of the twenty-ﬁrst century.
The Cambridge Companion to the Latin American Novel
Offers a broad overview of the novel's history and analyses in depth several representative works by, for example, Gabriel García Márquez, Machado de Assis, Isabel Allende and Mario Vargas Llosa.
The Cambridge Companion to Latin American Poetry
Provides historical context on the evolution of the Latin American poetic tradition from the sixteenth century to the present day. Includes chapters on colonial poetry, romanticism/modernism, the avant-garde, conversational poetry, contemporary poetry, major poets, and trends including women's, LGBT, Quechua, Afro-Hispanic, Latino/a, and New Media poetry.

Cambridge Companions Online This link opens in a new window
This database includes dedicated companions to Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriela García Márquez, and Jorge Luis Borges.

Dictionary of Literary Biography This link opens in a new window
Search by author's name. Includes more than 16,000 biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres.

The Cambridge History of Spanish Literature
Surveys the range of Spanish literature from the early Middle Ages to the present day. The "classics" of the canon of eleven centuries of Spanish literature are fully covered, but attention is also paid to lesser known writers and works.
The Cambridge Companion to the Spanish Novel From 1600 to the Present
Drawing on the combined legacies of Don Quijote and the traditions of the picaresque novel, these essays focus on the question of invention and experiment, on what constitutes the singular features of evolving fictional forms. It examines how the novel articulates the relationships between history and fiction, high and popular culture, art and ideology, and gender and society. Topics covered include the regional novel, women writers, and film and literature.
The Cambridge Companion to Cervantes
Comprehensive treatment of Cervantes' life and work. Essays by cover the historical and political context of Cervantes' writing, his place in Renaissance culture, and the role of Don Quixote in the formation of the modern novel. The volume provides suggestions for further reading, a detailed chronology and a guide to electronic resources.

The Cambridge Companion to Latina/o American Literature
Leading scholars in the field present critical analyses of key texts, authors, themes, and contexts, from the early nineteenth century to the present. They engage with the dynamics of migration, linguistic and cultural translation, and the uneven distribution of resources across the Americas that characterize Latina/o literature.

Scribner Writers Series This link opens in a new window
Search by author's name, or "Latino and Latina Writers" to access series.

Historical Dictionary of U.S. Latino Literature
Contains a chronology, introduction, and extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has cross-referenced entries on U.S. Latino/a authors, and terms relevant to the nature of U.S. Latino literature in order to illustrate and corroborate its foundational bearings within the overall American literary experience.