Subject Guides: Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies (LACAS): Getting Started

Welcome!

Welcome to the LACAS subject guide! The purpose of this guide is to provide a comprehensive list of resources that will be relevant and useful for anyone studying in the field of Latin American and Caribbean Area Studies. The tabs on the left-hand side will help you navigate through this guide. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact the LACAS subject librarian. Happy researching!

New Books

Recommended Databases for Starting Your Research

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Primarily a journal archive with some current content. If you are looking for current information, you may want to try other databases as well.

JSTOR has a "moving wall," which represents the time period between the last issue available in JSTOR and the most recently published issue of a journal. Publishers determine the moving wall length in their license agreements with JSTOR. Moving walls may range from zero to ten years, and those with walls from zero to seven years participate in our revenue sharing program. In calculating the moving wall, the current, incomplete year is not counted.
Project Muse This link opens in a new window
Humanities, social sciences, and mathematics journals from several university presses.

Coverage: Varies by title; earliest from 1990.
Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI Online) This link opens in a new window
Indexes journals about Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Hispanics in the U.S. and includes a wide range of topics.

Topics include politics and government, public administration, foreign relations, commerce and trade, banking and finance, business and industry, economic development and policy issues, economic integration, social movements, indigenous affairs, gender studies, environmental issues, drug trade, history, geography, archaeology, anthropology, ethnography, folklore, religion, art, literature, drama, film. Coverage: 1970-present.
Digitalia Hispanica This link opens in a new window
The most complete database of electronic books and journals in the Spanish language. Covers over 40,000 e-book and journal titles from countries such as Spain, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Dominican Republic
Informe Academico This link opens in a new window
Full-text Spanish- and Portuguese-language scholarly journals and magazines both from and about Latin America. Informe Académico provides quality reference material-not simply translations of English-language materials.
Ethnic NewsWatch This link opens in a new window
A full-text collection of articles from newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press..

Topics covered include news, arts, business, culture, education, the environment, history, journalism, political science, sociology. Spanish language search options available.
Readex Hispanic American Newspapers This link opens in a new window
Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980, represents the single largest compilation of Spanish-language newspapers printed in the U.S. during the 19th and 20th centuries. Features hundreds of Hispanic American newspapers.

It is based on the “Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project,” a national research effort directed by Nicolás Kanellos, Brown Foundation Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Houston.
Historical Abstracts with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Covers the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present.

Includes such topics as world history, military history, women's history, history of education, and more. The database indexes more than 1,700 academic historical journals in over 40 languages back to 1955; and 350 of them in full text.
World Scholar: Latin America & The Caribbean This link opens in a new window
Primary source documents about Latin America and the Caribbean; academic journals and news feeds; reference articles and commentary; maps and statistics; and audio and video.
Chicano Database This link opens in a new window
Indexes journal articles, books, newspaper articles, and book chapters dealing on all aspects of Latino life. Strongest for Chicanos/Mexican-Americans, but also includes content on other Latin American populations living in the United States including Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Cuban Americans, and Central Americans.

Topics include the arts, economics, education, folklore, gender studies, health, history, labor, law, mental health, poetry, politics, and sociology. Coverage: 1960- (for Chicanos) 1992- (for other Latino populations)
Archives of Sexuality & Gender: LGBTQ History and Culture This link opens in a new window
Primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender. With material dating back to the sixteenth century,you can examine how sexual norms have changed over time, health and hygiene, the development of sex education, the rise of sexology, changing gender roles, social movements and activism, erotica, and many other interesting topical areas.

We have perpetual access to parts I, II, III, and IV

Click here for more LACAS-recommended databases