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Research Guide to Literature in Spanish

     
The following is a selected list of resources for starting research in Literature in Spanish. For further assistance, contact Jeff Staiger, Romance Languages Librarian, at jstaiger@uoregon.edu.

Note: items with the off-campus access limited to UO icon are electronic resources available only to University of Oregon faculty, staff, and students, or to users working in the library.
     

Getting Started

These items can help you identify a topic for your research, provide an overview of a specific issue or topic, or suggest other materials that might be useful for your research.

  • The Oxford Companion to Spanish Literature KNIGHT REFERENCE PQ6006.095.
    • A concise, alphabetical guide to authors, works, and concepts in Spanish and Latin-American literature.
  • Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature PQ7081.A1.E56.1997.
    • Provides interpretative overviews of author's works and careers, as well as of concepts and issues relating to Latin American literature. Includes bibliographies and a title index.
  • Latin American Writers PQ8081.A1.L37 1989 (3 vols.).
    • Alphabetically arranged reference source provides career overviews of Latin American authors; each entry comes with bibliographies both of the author's work and selected criticism.
  • Diccionario Enciclopedica de las Letras de America Latina PQ7081.D515.1995.
    • A guide with ample introductions to major authors, key works, and literary movements large and small. With bibliographies.
  • Diccionario de literatura latino-americana PQ7081.C37. 1998.
    • A concise handbook of information about literary figures and movements; with an explanatory glossary of key terms and a select bibliography.

Dictionaries

The Knight Library has many Spanish and bilingual dictionaries, including historical and topical ones, both in the Reference section on the first floor and in the stacks on the third floor. To browse the collection of Spanish, as well as specifically Latin American, dictionaries that you can borrow, go to the third floor and check the call numbers between PC 4625 and PC 4670, or do a subject search in the library catalog for spanish language dictionaries english. English-Spanish bilingual dictionaries are at PC 4640.

Spanish-English Dictionaries in Print

The Oxford Spanish Dictionary KNIGHT REFERENCE PC4640.094. 2001

Collins Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary KNIGHT REFERENCE PC4640.C53. 1998

Spanish Dictionaries in Print

Diccionario Critico Etimologico Castellano e Hispanico KNIGHT REFERENCE PC4580.C6. 1980

Diccionario general illustrado de la Lengua Espanola KNIGHT REFERENCE PC4625.V6. 1987

Spanish-English Dictionaries Online

The Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary (Spanish--English): Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary

The Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary (English--Spanish): Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary

WordReference.com A large, multilingual dictionary provided by HarperCollins.



Finding Articles

To look for articles in journals, newspapers, or magazines, you will need to start with an index. An index will allow you to look for articles by subject, title, author, or by a few keywords describing your topic.

Magazine and Journal Articles (In English)

MLA International Bibliography off-campus access limited to UO
The MLA index covers works on languages, literature, linguistics, film, culture, folklore, and related topics, from 1963 to the pres ent. It will direct you to journal articles, books, chapters in collections of essays, dissertations and theses, and papers issued as conference proceedings. Most items are in English, even if they're discussing works in Spanish; a few are in Spanish.

Academic Search Premier off-campus access limited to UO
ASE covers a wide range of subjects in popular and scholarly journals, from 1984 to the present. About half of the articles covered since 1990 are full-text, meaning you can read the entire article online. Will not direct you to books, dissertations, or conference proceedings.

Year's Work in Modern Language Studies KNIGHT REFERENCE PB 1 .Y45
Provides a summary of the major critical work in modern languages in a given year. Volumes are divided by language, then by time period and area. A very good introduction to major concepts in a field, and also useful in developing research ideas. Includes citations to articles, collections, and books.

Handbook of Latin American Studies off-campus access limited to UO
A bibliography of works on Latin America covering publications from 1936 to the present. The multidisciplinary HLAS alternates annually between the social sciences and humanities. Citations are largely for materials in English or Spanish.

HAPI off-campus access limited to UO
A multidisciplinary database covering more than 400 journals from 1970 to the present. Covers Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean basin, and the border region between the United States and Mexico. Also includes information about the Hispanic population in the United States.

PRISMA off-campus access limited to UO
PRISMA (Publicaciones y Revistas Sociales y Humanísticas) is a comprehensive reference resource providing full-text scholarly journals in the social sciences and humanities for the interdisciplinary academic study of Hispanic and Latin America, and the Caribbean Basin. Offering key titles indexed in the Hispanic American Periodicals Index (HAPI), PRISMA features Spanish, Portuguese and English language content.



Newspaper Articles

Lexis-Nexis Academic off-campus access limited to UO

This database contains articles from a variety of news sources. Articles can be printed directly from the database. Proceed to "Guided News Search," then:
  • Proceed to "Guided News Search"
  • For "category," choose "Non-English Language News" from the pull-down menu.
  • For "source," choose "Spanish Language News"
  • Enter your keywords and click "Search."
World News Connection off-campus access limited to UO

This database offers an extensive array of translated and English-language news and information. Compiled from thousands of non-U.S. media sources, the information in WNC covers significant socioeconomic, political, scientific, technical, and environmental issues and events.


Finding Books

Original Works and Critical Studies (in English or Spanish):

UO Library Catalog
Use the library's search box to look for books by subject, title, or author. A subject search will also allow you to see a display of related subjects that may more narrowly capture your topic.

Orbis/Cascade Alliance Union Catalog (SUMMIT) off-campus access limited to UO
Use the "Summit" catalog of the Orbis/Cascade consortium of Northwest libraries to find materials not held by the UO Library. To request a book from one of the Summit libraries, identify the item you need in this catalog, then select "Request This Item."

WorldCat off-campus access limited to UO
WorldCat provides access to library catalogs from around the world. The database contains bibliographic records describing books, journals, maps, musical scores, manuscripts, etc. Use WorldCat to identify and locate hard-to-find items, then request them through Interlibrary Loan (ILL).

Short Stories

Short Story Index. Paper volumes, available in the Knight Reference area. List short stories written in or translated into English. Published yearly with 5 year cumulations.
  • Search by author's name to find the translated title of the story you're looking for.
  • Look up the story collection by its title in the "List of Collections Indexed"
  • Search the catalogs above to find the collection.
Poetry

Granger's Index to Poetry in Anthologies
Granger's Index to Poetry in Collected and Selected Works Paper volumes, available in the Knight Reference area. Includes poems translated into English published in an anthology or collection.
  • Search the index by author to find the translated title of the poem you're looking for.
  • Look up the title to find the collection or anthology title in its abbreviated form.
  • Check the abbreviation index to find the full title.
  • Search the catalogs above to find the work that contains the poem you're looking for.

Finding Film Information

  • Guide to the Cinema of Spain KNIGHT REFERENCE PN1993.5.S7.D68 1997
    • An index to films, directors, producers, cinematographers, critics, actors and actresses of Spanish cinema, with an appendix listing international awards and a selected bibliography.
  • Latin American Films, 1932-1994: A Critical Filmography KNIGHT REFERENCE PN1995.9.L37.S38 1998
    • Comments on 301 films, mostly from Latin America, but also including some Caribbean and Chicano works. With a chronological list of all the films covered.
  • South American Cinema: A Critical Filmography, 1915-1994 KNIGHT REFERENCE PN1993.5.S63.B37 1996
    • Each chapter offers brief critical discussions of the major cinematic works of a particular country. With a glossary of film terms, and a bibliography for each country.
  • A Guide to Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Made Film and Video KNIGHT REFERENCE PN1993.5.S7.D68 1997
    • A directory offering evaluative descriptions of films and videos, with suggestions regarding their pedagogical use. Arranged by country, with a bibliography and subject index.
  • Encylcopedia of European Cinema KNIGHT REFERENCE PN1993.5.E8.V56 1995
    • Alphabetically organized with brief encyclopedic entries covering actors, directors, screen-writers, movements, concepts, etc.

Web Resources

Yahoo! España

Western European Studies Section of the American Library Association. This is a page of research guides created by librarians who specialize in Western European Studies. Guides are posted from universities such as Yale, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Notre Dame.

Spanish-Language News and Magazines A site maintened by MIT libraries with links to over 50 news publications from Spain and South America.

Cervantes Virtual A rich trove of literary, biographical, historical, and linguistic materials.


Spanish Royal Academy (Real Academia Española) A online dictionary that gives precise definitions in Spanish.