Research Guides: SCR SPAN 131 / Queer Lives in Latin America / Professor Bacsan / SP 22: Explore Your Topic

Explore Your Topic

Reference sources, like dictionaries and encyclopedias, are useful tools to explore a topic of interest and start your research. They can provide you with a broad overview of a topic and help you gather preliminary information about it. In addition to those included below, try searching for additional encyclopedias having to do with your topic of interest (sample search using kw:(latin america*) AND su:(encyclopedias)).

Tips:

Start broad to explore
- Search a country
- Search a concept (e.g., language)
- Search a specific person (e.g., Tatiana de La Tierra)
- Search an event or movement
Many articles include a list of works cited or a bibliography at the end. Take note of titles of interest and search them in Library Search.

Encyclopedias

Global Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) History by Howard Chiang (Editor); Anjali R Arondekar (Editor)
ISBN: 9780684325545
Publication Date: 2019
This encyclopedia covers LGBTQ topics in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East, as well as North America, and takes an interdisciplinary approach to the subject, using film, literature, human rights, politics, landmark legislation, activism, the arts, language, sports, and historical events as points of entry into the content.
The Queer Encyclopedia of Music, Dance, and Musical Theater by Claude J. Summers
Call Number: ML100 .Q44 2004
ISBN: 9781573441988
Publication Date: 2004-11-24
An encyclopedic volume by the scholars of GLBTQ featuring over 200 articles showcasing composers, singers, musicians, dancers, and choreographers across eras and styles.

Dictionaries

Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography by Franklin W Knight (Editor); Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Editor)
ISBN: 9780199935802
Publication Date: 2016
The Dictionary of Caribbean and Afro-Latin American Biography provides a comprehensive overview of the lives of Caribbeans and Afro-Latin Americans who are historically significant. The project covers the entire Caribbean and the Afro-descended populations throughout Latin America. It also encompasses the full scope of history, with entries on figures from the first forced slave migrations in the sixteenth centuries to entries on living persons. Individuals are drawn from all walks of life including philosophers, politicians, activists, entertainers, scholars, poets, scientists, religious figures, kings, and everyday people whose lives have contributed to the history of the Caribbean and Latin America. (Adapted from publisher)