Overview of Spain
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Cultures and Customs
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Reference books are always a great source for cultural overviews of a country. In addition to Wikipedia's entry on
Spanish culture, the following books may help you familiarize yourself with the
cultures, customs, and traditions of Spain.
Reference Books
Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture. Eamonn Rodgers, editor. New York: Routledge, 1999.
Learn about cultural references, politics, the arts, minority languages and cultures, and more. This encyclopedia is well designed and full of interesting,
balanced short factual entries and longer essays.
Davis Library Reference, Undergraduate Library Reference, DP233.5 .E63 1999
Handbook of Spanish Popular Culture. Edward F. Stanton. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1999.
Addresses the roles taken by religion, the fiesta, bullfighting, sports, music, film, radio and television, the press, and popular literature. This book also
provides historical background for traditions and other aspects of Spanish culture
Davis Library Reference, DP48 .S68 1999
The Regions of Spain: a Reference Guide to History and Culture. Robert W. Kern. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1995.
Presents Spain broken out into its 18 regions and 50 provinces, detailing regional and provincial history.
With maps, photos, discussion of historic sites, and even recipes.
Davis Library Reference, Davis Library, Undergraduate Library, DP48 .K45 1995
Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. New York: Scribner, 2003.
This encyclopedia includes an entry on Spain's food culture (under "Iberian Peninsula"), from food preparation, distribution, and storage,
to holidays and festivals, nutrition and health, and cultures and cuisine. This book is also available online through
the UNC Libraries catalog.
Davis Library Reference, Undergraduate Library Reference, GT2850 .E53 2003
Historical Dictionary of Modern Spain, 1700-1988.
Robert W. Kern, editor-in-chief. New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.
Written by 70 scholars from several countries, this dictionary provides information about unique political, historical, and cultural topics that may not have received much attention in the U.S. An excellent source for research projects,
papers, or theses, if you need ideas for original research dealing with Spain.
Davis Library Reference, DP192 .H57 1990
Stanton, Edward F. Culture and Customs of Spain. New York: Greenwood Press, 2002.
"Stanton vibrantly describes the startling variety of landscape, people, and culture that make up Spain today. Included are a context chapter and others on religion, customs, media, cinema, literature, performing arts, and visual arts. Students of Spanish and a general audience will be rewarded with engrossing insights into what writer Ernest Hemingway called 'the very best country of all.'"
--Amazon.com Includes chronologies.
