Pathfinder for Latin American Reference Sources

| Introduction | Browsing Areas | Encyclopedias |
| Dictionaries | Social Sciences | Atlases | Statistics | Internet Resources

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Introduction

A pathfinder is a tool for finding the way. It is not meant to be a comprehensive, all-inclusive bibliography, but instead a starting point for students with little idea where to begin research. The ideal pathfinder is one that leads to other places of learning and discovery. For those who seek to learn more about the important region of Latin America (here used to refer to all lands south of the United States), this pathfinder offers fundamental resources to begin investigation. Upon consulting these works one will have a much better grasp of the subject matter and ideas about where to proceed next.

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Browsing Areas

The Library of Congress classifies Latin American resources in a couple of general areas. It is useful to know these call numbers in order to browse works that may be of great help in research. Some other useful materials are located in other places based upon the predominant subject content, so don't rely solely on these areas but instead think broadly. For example, there are books about education or economics that have substantial information relevant to Latin America but they located in the areas for their respective disciplines instead of the general area for Latin America. Think interdisciplinary and look around in order to achieve the most effective results in your research.

Latin American History: F1409.6 - F1419

Latin American Literature: PQ7081 - PQ8560

Gale Literary Series Reference Rows 3 - 4

The titles Literary Criticism from 1400-1800, Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism, Twentieth Century Literary Criticism, Contemporary Literary Criticism, and Contemporary Authors are all wonderful tools for locating information. These should be among the first sources consulted by students beginning research on Hispanic Literature. On top of the shelves there is a cumulative index for all of these volumes published by Gale. The entries are authoritative, critical, bibliographic, and often have illustrations.

A Sourcebook for Hispanic Literature and Language
Z2695 .A2 B55 1995

This work is a guide to finding sources of information on Spanish literature in bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, and the like. There is commentary on each source and it even includes a listing of libraries, book dealers, and scholarly publications. This is an excellent resource for both Spanish and Latin American literature studies.

Guide to Reference Works for the Study of Spanish Language and Literature and Spanish American Literature
Z2695 .A2 W66 1997

Like the above work, this is a collection of resources to assist students finding resource, however, it is a bit more in-depth and scholarly. It states that "graduate students in Spanish can use it to learn about some of the most important reference works in their field of interest, and librarians can use it as an aid in developing reference collections in Spanish language and literature and Spanish American literature". There are numerous entries categorized into many divisions according to country, literary movement, and type of work. Also like the above work, there is commentary on the sources and a miscellaneous section listing book dealers, catalogs, and the like. Together, these tools form a powerful team for locating resources.

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Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature. Verity Smith, ed. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers: 1997.
PQ7081.A1 E56

A cornerstone in the field of Latin American studies, this work examines important authors, titles, movements, and themes in the region's literature. It should be among one of the very first works consulted and is an excellent point of departure for deeper investigation. Numerous indexes make information easy to find and the bibliographies appearing at the end of nearly all entries are great resources for further research.

Milenios de México. Humberto Musacchio. Hoja Casa Editorial: 1999.
F1204 .M955

This work has a very visual feel similar to that of an illustrated encyclopedia. The entries emphasize a very authoritive and up to date treatment of the arts, events, and personalities that have contributed over the past two thousand years to the formation of the modern day Mexican state. It is beautifully illustrated with images decorating nearly every page.

Encyclopedia of Mexico : history, society, and culture. Michael S. Werner, ed. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers: 1997.
F1210 .E63

This publication compliments many kinds of studies in the humanities and social sciences by offering basic, yet fundamental information on topics relating Mexico. In the two volumes there are lengthy articles on topics such as the peso crisis of 1994, architecture through the ages, and organizations for social change. It is very broad and interdisciplinary in its coverage but the articles are well written and provide an overview that can lead the reader to new areas of study.

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2^nd ed. Simon Collier, Thomas E. Skidmore, and Harold Blakemore, eds. Cambridge University Press: 1992.
F1406 .C36

Given the Cambridge pedigree, the authority of this publication is practically without question. It paints a very broad picture of the entire region in its chapters dedicated to economy, culture, literature, etc. It is relatively dated but nevertheless a very good reference source for beginning to look at broad topics in Latin America. There are many illustrations of maps, statistics, and portraits, as well as suggestions for further reading throughout the work.

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures. Daniel Balderston, Mike Gonzalez and Ana M. López. Routledge: 2000.
F1406 .E515

As a three-volume set with contributions from over 400 international scholars, this work seeks to provide quick and easy reference to entries relating to the political, social, and cultural aspects of the region. The thematic entry list makes locating information very easy. There are ample cross-references, nice layout of most important facts, and each entry tends to be brief and to the point. This is a very good tool for gaining a broad, fundamental understanding of the topics appearing within the pages before proceeding to more specialized research.

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Barbara A. Tenenbaum ed. Scribner's: 1996.
F1406 .E53

The aim of this three-volume work is "to reflect the way Latin Americans of all classes understand their world. To that end there are almost 6,000 entries ranging from "cuisines to religions to sports". The entries are not merely snippets however, in fact, each entry is at least 100 words long according to the editors' standards. Illustrations appear on every couple of pages and there are frequent "see also" notes and bibliographic references.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures. Davíd Carrasco, ed. Oxford: 2001.
F1218.6 .O95

Like encyclopedias in general, this three-volume set is a great starting point for beginning to look at general topics, in this case, Mesoamerican civilization. The entries are broad, including such interesting topics such as "beverages" and "canines" which are studied in their historical and cultural context of the region. The name Oxford, like Cambridge, ensures that the information presented is of the highest quality. At the end of all entries is a bibliography for further research.

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Dictionaries

Diccionario Porrúa : historia, biografía y geografía de México. 6^th ed. Editorial Porrúa: 1995.
F1204 .D56

This revised and corrected edition contains detailed dictionary entries on topics pertinent to Mexico and Mexican culture. There are four thick volumes with numerous fold-out color maps and portraits. The title is very indicative of the broad coverage in the book's content, for example, the entries run the gamut from sports to places to history to people and everything in between. This is the place to quickly determine facts, figures, and orientation related to Mexico that could possibly be overlooked in other tools.

Dictionary of Twentieth Century Culture. Peter Standish. Gale Research: 1995.
F2237 .H57

Organized geographically, this two-volume dictionary "attempts to define what people have collectively thought was significant" in our modern society. This is a valuable tool for a perspective of the important aspects life and culture in Latin America during the last century. There is also a selected timeline of selected works and events from every year up until 1994 and numerous portraits of important figures.

The United States in Latin America : a historical dictionary. David Shavit. Greenwood Press: 1992.
F1418 .S494

This single volume seeks to provide "information about persons, institutions, and events that affected the relationships between the United States and Latin America; specifically, persons who actually have been in Latin America; and events that occurred in that area". At the end of this work it indexes entries according to occupation and includes a bibliographic essay and a list of chiefs of American Diplomatic Missions in Latin America from 1823-1990.

Historical Dictionary of Venezuela. 2^nd ed. Donna Keyse Rudolph and G.A. Rudolph. Scarecrow Press: 1996.
F2304 .R8

This is an updated edition that is part of a series published in the early 70's by Scarecrow Press titled "Latin American Historical Dictionaries". Each volume treats a specific Latin or South American country, so other volumes are worth checking out for the other countries as well such as Honduras, Cuba, and Colombia to name a few. In this particular title there is a wealth of entries in dictionary format about the people, institutions, and events that have contributed to form the modern day country of Venezuela. There is also a chronology and a lengthy bibliography that points to sources of more information.

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Social Sciences

Archaeology of Ancient Mexico and Central America : an encyclopedia. Susan Toby Evans and David L. Webster, eds. Garland Publishing: 2001.
F1218.6 .A73

This single volume provides basic information in over 500 articles about Middle America and the Pre-Colombian cultures that flourished in the region, which now includes the countries of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. It contains indexes organized by time period, geography, and "cultural features" as well as a listing of scholars who have contributed articles to the publication. Numerous illustrations make this work a valuable resource for those interested in the fields of archaeology, cultural anthropology, geography, or history.

Handbook of Mesoamerican Mythology. Kay Almere Read and Jason J. González. ABC-CLIO: 2000.
F1219.3.R38 R42

This title was written by a mother and son team, the former being a professor of religious studies and the latter a Ph.D. student in Mayan archaeology. Together they collaborated to produce this work that is delightfully readable and insightful. It is organized into four very broad thematic chapters, but the index makes specific references easy to locate. One chapter in particular, "Deities, Themes, and Concepts" is more similar to a dictionary formet (but very engaging to read nevertheless) and the final chapter is a lengthy listing of annotated print and nonprint resources.

Handbook of Latin American Popular Culture. Harold E. Hinds Jr. and Charles M. Tatum, eds. Greenwood Press: 1985.
F1408.3 .H316

It is a little dated, but it is still a unique resource for understanding some of the not-so-highbrow aspects of Latin American music, television, film, comics, etc. Is popular culture an oxymoron? Curiously, these cultural phenomena are often overlooked in other academic texts, but are nevertheless of great importance for understanding Latin American culture.

Latin American Writers on Gay and Lesbian Themes : a bio-critical sourcebook. David William Foster, ed. Greenwood Press: 1994.
PQ7081.3 .F62

David William Foster is among the world's leading scholars of Latin American literature. In this work, indexed by author, he and other top scholars examine how the theme of homosexualtiy is manifested in many different forms, regardless of the author's orientation. There is also a companion volume for Spanish literature and both should be a cornerstone of any research in Hispanic literature and gay studies.

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Atlases

The History Atlas of South America. Dr. Edwin Early et al. Macmillan: 1998.
G1701.S1 E4

Although the title says South America, this work is actually a wonderful combination of narrative and illustrations that encompasses all of the lands south of the United States. It presents facets of Pre-Colombian civilizations, the Iberian empires, and the postcolonial period through richly illustrated and informative maps. They cover such topics as natural resources, political campaigns, trading routes, and many, many more phenomena and events and serve to offer fresh perspectives on the history of the region.

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Statistics
Statistical Abstract of Latin America v.37. James W. Wilkie, ed. UCLA Latin American Center: 2001.
HA935 .S8

This work is an incredible resource for statistics on practically every conceivable topic. The statistics come from over 250 national and international sources and are broadly grouped into chapters such as the environment, transportation, communication, health, education, and politics just to name but a few. It is quite thick and quite expensive but well worth it.

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Internet Resources

Follow this link to the UNC-Chapel Hill Latin American and Iberian Resources page of Internet resources. However, don't rely solely on electronic sources for information because much fundamental knowledge in Latin American studies can only be gained from print sources. Finally, and this goes without saying, if the Latin American / Iberian Resources and/or Reference department can help you anyway with your research, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us.

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