CCSF Library: Latin American &amp; Latino/Latina Studies: Background

Background Sources

Description

Background sources (also known as reference sources) are tertiary and contain information we "refer" to, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. These are good sources to use to get started - when you need ideas for how to narrow your topic, or could use more words to describe your needs (such as when thinking of keywords to put into a search box.)

What do they contain?

Entries

How often are these sources published?

Once, annually, or every few years

Found in:

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo Reference offers background information on topics from hundreds of full-text general and subject-specific reference/encyclopedia titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
An online collection of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. Small searchable and downloadable collection of electronic books on a variety of subjects.

▶ Check out our video on how to use e-books for research.

Alternative places to look:

Opposing Viewpoints (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new window
The "Overview" entries in this multidisciplinary database are very good background sources. Overviews are found at the top of the individual Topic pages.
Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
While not strictly "reference," this video database is a great multidisciplinary source to find background information.

Examples of Background Sources

Popol Vuh by Dennis Tedlock
The Mayan book of creation was originally written in Mayan hieroglyphs and translated into the Roman alphabet in the 16th century. Dennis Tedlock's translation includes new notes and commentary, newly translated passages, newly deciphered hieroglyphs, and over 40 new illustrations.
Aztec Codices: What They Tell Us about Daily Life by Lori Boornazian Diel
This reference book introduces students to Aztec daily life in a visually engaging format with pages of the codices described and analyzed to lend insight into social, religious, and natural life of these ancient people.
The Codex Borgia by Gisele Díaz; Alan Rodgers; Bruce E. Byland (Introduction by)
The Codex Borgia is thought to have its origin (ca. A.D. 1400) in the southern central highlands of Mexico, perhaps in Puebla or Oaxaca. This restoration contains 76 large full-color plates of gods, kings, warriors, mythical creatures, and mysterious abstract designs that offers profound insights into pre-Columbian Mexican myth and ritual.
A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de las Casas
In A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Las Casas catalogues the atrocities he observed the Spanish colonial authorities inflict upon the native people. He discusses the brutal torture, mass genocide, and enslavement. He passionately pleas for an end to this treatment and for the native peoples to be given basic human rights.
Bartolomé de Las Casas and the Defense of Amerindian Rights by Lawrence A. Clayton; David M. Lantigua
Bartolomé de las Casas and the Defense of Amerindian Rights: A Brief History with Documents provides the most wide-ranging and concise anthology of Las Casas's writings containing excerpts from his most well-known texts and largely unavailable writings on political philosophy and law.
Unequal Encounters : a Reader in Early Latin American Political Thought by Hoyt, Katherine
ISBN: 9781793622532
Publication Date: 2022
This volume presents a selection of the most compelling political writings from early colonial Latin America that address the themes of conquest, colonialism, and enslavement. The anthology centers the voices of Indigenous peoples, whose writings constitute six of the fifteen chapters while also including women's, African, and Jewish perspectives.
An Aztec Herbal by William Gates (Translator)
Originally written in Nahuatl, in 1552, this classic codex was the first herbal and medical text compiled in the New World. In these pages are centuries-old Aztec remedies for boils, hair loss, cataracts, insomnia, sore throats, hiccups, gout, lesions, wounds, joint diseases, tumors, and scores of other ailments.

Latinx Photography in the United States: A Visual History
The book traces the rise of a Latinx consciousness in photography in the 1960s and '70s and the growth of identity-based approaches in the 1980s and'90s.
The New Latinos (1946-1965): The Latino Americans
This episode from the Films on Demand documentary series "The Latino Americans" would be helpful to give you an overview of the waves of Latino immigration after WWII.
Blackwell Companions to World History: A Companion to Latin American History
The book provides a diverse history and trends in the study of Latin America.
Defining Moments in American History: The Zoot Suit Riots
The book provides a detailed account of the political events, social trends, and racial attitudes that contributed to a week-long outbreak of violence in Los Angeles in 1943 by white servicemen and civilians against young Mexican-American "zoot suiters".

Latin American & Latino/Latina Studies

Assistance

Background Sources

Description

What do they contain?

How often are these sources published?

Found in:

Alternative places to look:

Examples of Background Sources