Latin American History
Research & Instruction Librarian
vmoran@macalester.edu
Approaching historical research
Historical research relies on a wide variety of sources, both primary & secondary, including unpublished material.
Primary Sources
First-hand testimonies from sources who witnessed or experienced an event firsthand.
- Examples include: a letter, newspaper article, a photograph, a diary, or other ephemera from the time period being studied.
- Found in public records & legal documents, minutes of meetings, corporate records, recordings, letters, diaries, journals, drawings.
- Located in university archives, historical societies, and within private institutions or museums.
Secondary or Scholarly Sources
These are the peer reviewed articles and scholarly books that historians write after they have worked with the primary sources and consulted other secondary articles or books.
- Can be oral or written
- Secondhand accounts of events
- Found in textbooks, encyclopedias, journal articles, newspapers, biographies and other media such as films or tape recordings.
Pro tip: as you find primary and secondary sources, see what language they use, and add new terms to your list to help you refine additional searches!
Search strategies
Before you start searching for resources:
Pause to think about what exactly you are searching for. Write down key words, phrases, names and dates that might relate to you topic. When doing historical research, think about historical language as well as modern.
Starting points for searching for Latin American history resources:
By Topic - Type in the keywords that broadly describe your topic. For example: caribbean banana history
By Title - Type in the first few words of the book title in quotations. For example: "medicine and politics in colonial peru".
By Author - Type in the last name followed by the first name of the author in quotations. For example: "rodríguez-silva ileana"
Best Bets
A sampling of journals related to Latin American History. To view a more complete list, visit BrowZine.
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- Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new windowThe best database to use when looking for academic journal articles in the field of modern world history including Latin American history for the period 1450 to the present
- Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS) This link opens in a new windowIndex to scholarly journals, books, and conference papers in the social sciences and humanities covering the field of Latin American studies.
- HAPI (Hispanic American Periodicals Index) This link opens in a new windowContains Spanish and English language articles, book reviews, documents, original literary works, and other materials appearing in key national and international social science and humanities journals.
- JSTOR This link opens in a new windowLarge collection of scholarly journals and books from all disciplines, with stronger coverage for the humanities and social sciences. Current issues from journals (the most recent 3-5 years) are generally not available in JSTOR.
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture by ISBN: 9780684312705Publication Date: 2008-05-09Addresses research on prehistoric environments and cultures, U.S. Haitian interventions, the consequences of NAFTA and increased Mexican immigration, the troubled aftermaths of Pinochets Chile and Fujimoris Peru, truth and reconciliation commissions, and the still-contested legacy of the Mexico City massacre of 1968. New leaders like Brazils Lula da Silva and Venezuelas Hugo Chávez are profiled along with hundreds of other rising figures in politics, letters, and the arts. Newly commissioned master essays synthesize current knowledge on such major regional themes as Democracy in the Americas, Hemispheric Affairs, and the Hispanic Impact on the U.S. Includes full index and table of biographical subjects by profession.
Schedule a Meeting with a Librarian
Have questions about the research process? Don't struggle, reach out to a librarian for help! Students interested in research support can book a meeting with a librarian to:
- Narrow down research topic ideas
- Find background information
- Save time getting started with your research
- Use the library’s collections as well as worldwide and web resources
- Choose databases for discipline-focused research
- Learn more efficient searching method
To make an appointment, reach out to a subject librarian specializing in your topic.