Latin American History
Why start with background research?
Background research helps you identify the who, what, and where of a topic. This is the first step in researching a subject and discovering the "how" and "why".
Encyclopedias provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events, and dates which can then be used as search terms for finding additional information. Many encyclopedias also provide a jumpstart on your research by listing related readings.
Interested in meeting with a research librarian to toss around ideas and narrow down your research topic? Meet with Ginny, the librarian that specializes in history, or meet with Amelia, the librarian that specializes in Latin American Studies! They are more than happy to schedule an appointment to discuss your research.
Recommended Background Research Sources
Scholarly subject specific encyclopedias:
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The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean
by
Call Number: MAC Stacks F1406 .C36 1992Publication Date: 1992-09-25 -
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Historical Dictionary of United States - Latin American Relations
by
Call Number: MAC Stacks F1418.S638 2007ISBN: 0810855291Publication Date: 2006-12-05
General academic encyclopedias that cover Latin American History topics:
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Credo Reference
Access to general and subject-specific reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations and proverbs). Provides a graphics-based Concept Mapping option for topic exploration.
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Oxford Reference OnlineResource of reference materials such as dictionary, language reference, and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press. Provides database-wide searching, subject searching across sources, and individual title searching.