Lake Forest College Donnelley and Lee Library Ask Librarian Hours Interlibrary Loan

POL 219: Politics of Latin America


Reference books
These reference books will provide information on U.S. foreign policy and countries. The reference collection is located on the first floor beyond the reference computers.

Latin America 2006

Location: REF F 1401 .L3252 2006

Encyclopedia of Contemporary Latin American and Caribbean Cultures

Location: REF F 1406 .E515 2000

South America, Central America and the Caribbean 1997

Location: REF F 1401 .S68 1997

CIA World Factbook 2006

Location: G 122 .U56A 2006

Also available online

Country Studies

Location: Reference (each country has its own volume)

Also available online ; Country Profiles also available online

The Stateman's Yearbook 2007
Location: REF JA 51 .S7
Brief information on each country's location, population, constitutuion, recent elections, natural resources, etc.

The Europa World Year Book 2004
Location: REF JN 1 .E854 2004
Historical overviews of each country, essay on current political and economic outlook, lists of major media, education and cultural institutions, trade unions, etc.

Political Handbook of the World 2005-2006
Location: REF JF 37 .P6
Provides political information on each country of the world, including politcal background, foreign relations, current issues, political parties, and opposition parties.

The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World
Location: REF JA 61 .O95 2001
Contains articles on various topics and countries, including terrorism, political violence and international law.

Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations and

Worldmark Chronology of the Nations

Location: REF G 133 and REF G 63

CQ Researcher
Location: REF H35 .C672 2005
Use the index to look up issue; use "international relations" rather than "foreign policy."

Global Geopolitical Flashpoints: an Atlas of Conflict
Location: REF JC 319 .A53 2000
This resource describes the conflict and political instability for volatile areas around the world.

Encyclopedia of Nationalism
Location: REF JC 311 .E4996 2001
Provides thematic (national symbols, art & culture), disciplinary (political science, postmodernism), and geographic (North Africa, East Asia) overviews.

International Encyclopedia of Human Rights
Location: REF JC 571 .M3243 2000

Human and Civil Rights: Essential Primary Sources
Location: REF JC 571 .H7626 2006

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (by year)
Location: REF JC 571 .U48a (also available online)

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture

Location: REF F 1406 .E53 1996

Encyclopedia of World Cultures

Location: REF GN 550 .E53


Locating books

Use I-Share to find books in the Lake Forest Library, as well as 64 other academic libraries in Illinois.

* Find books on your country, search it as a subject heading. Look through the list of subdivisions, which include bibliography, government and politics, etc.
* If we have an available copy of the book you want, write down the call number and retrieve the book downstairs. Browse the shelves in that area to find more books on the same topic.
* When you find a book you want, click "request" and enter the 14-digit barcode number from the back of your ID card.

Databases for finding journal articles
Use databases to find articles from journals on your topic.

Academic Search Premier (EBSCOhost)
A good place to start - popular and scholarly articles on general topics

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe
Contains full-text news articles

JSTOR
Full-text academic journals


Project Muse
Full-text academic journals


Alternative Press Index
Articles from non-mainstream journals on political, cultural and social change
Useful for getting an alternative perspective on a topic

Call x5074 for the password


Other databases

Web sites

Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC)

Center for Latin American Studies (UC Berkeley)

Latin American Research Review (LARR) [NB: we are not members, so to access articles, please use go to Academic Search Premier and choose "search within this publication"

Latin World

International Monetary Fund Country Information

World Bank Latin American & Caribbean

Nation Master (source for statistics)

Human Rights Watch, United Nations Documents related to Latin America, Amnesty International and U.S. State Department Human Rights Reports

Indigenous Peoples (from LANIC) , Cultural Survival, Native Web

Women and Gender Studies (from LANIC)

Labor Issues in Latin America (from LANIC)


Google's Blog Search page

Google Scholar


Wikipedia's Latin America entry (good as a starting point ONLY)