Spanish Research

Choose a topic that is interesting to you and which will work within your assignment's parameters. Usually your research goal is to locate published scholarship (books and journal articles) to read on your topic.

Remember to evaluate the accuracy of your resources, and think critically about their arguments. When in doubt, check with your instructor in the Hispanic Languages and Literatures Department.

First, read a good summary of a your topic in an encyclopedia, like those listed in the Books section. Second, once you know the basics on your topic, search for more published scholarship, such as books in the CUNY Catalog or other catalogs.

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Historia de la literatura espanola (Ref. PQ6032 .A45, 5 vols.)

Contains preliminary criticism on authors and topics in peninsular literature .

Oxford companion to Spanish literature (Ref. PQ6005 .O95)

A one volume reference manual of information likely to be of value to readers of Spanish peninsular literature.

Cambridge history of Latin American literature (Ref. PQ7081 .A1 C35 1996, 3 vols.)

Covers the whole sweep of Latin American literature from pre-Columbian times to the present.

Diccionario enciclopedico de las letras de America latina (Ref. PQ7081 .D515 1995, 3 vols.)

A broad collection of critical essays on Latin American authors and topics covering the period from pre-Hispanic times to the present.

Encyclopedia of Latin American literature (Ref. PQ7081 .A1 E56 1997)

Contains entries on writers, works and topics relating to the literature of Latin America, including survey articles on all of the continent's individual countries.

Diccionario de la lengua espanola (Ref. PC4625 .A3)

Provides the 22^nd edition of the Spanish Royal Academy's dictionary.

El ABC

This site offers the Spanish daily newspaper from Madrid. The sections include Culture, Sports, the Economy, National and International news, Society and Editorials.

La Nacion

This site offers the Argentinian daily newspaper from Buenos Aires. The sections include Politics, Economics, Science and Health, Sports, Culture and other areas.

El Pais

The global online edition of this Spanish newspaper includes sections on national and international news, culture, the economy, society, technology, sports and more.

• Project Cervantes
• Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes

• Instituto Cervantes
• Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC)

Step 1

Consult Reference books on the third floor of the Library. Ref PQ 6000s for Peninsular literature and PQ 7000s and 8000s for Latin American literature. Reference books are excellent starting points to get an overview of a topic, to find background material on an author or just to put your ideas in perspective.

Step 2

Consult book sources on the fifth floor of the Library by accessing the CUNY Catalog. Open up the CUNY Catalog on the computer and click on “guided search.” Enter the author's name you are researching as a subject in one box and a keyword or phrase from the title of the work you are researching in the next box also as a subject.

Step 3

Consult journal articles from the MLA database (1926-present). From the Library homepage click on “Research,” then “Databases” and finally “M” for MLA International Bibliography. At this point, make sure you click on the box marked “MLA International Bibliography with Directory of Periodicals.” In the advanced search mode, enter the author's name in one box and a keyword word or phrase from the title of the work you are researching in the next box. Keep in mind that not all the journals either in Spanish or in English in this database are owned by Queens College. For holdings, check the title of the journal in the box. If you find an essay, search the CUNY Catalog under the title of the book in which the essay appears.