HIS 334: History of Mexico and Cuba: Reference Collection

"The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mexican History and Culture is a thematic print reference collection that brings fresh interpretations to standard political and economic analyses and provides new insights through cultural approaches to Mexico’s history. Drawing on articles from across the sections of the online ORE, the encyclopedia features the latest scholarship written by leading scholars from Mexico and the English-speaking world. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mexican History and Culture also considers topics of increasing interest, including gender and environmental studies, and offers useful guides to digital archives and resources for the study of Mexican history. All of the articles appear online as part of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History." - Publisher description

"For nearly 3,000 years, Mexico was the site of some of the most advanced Indian civilizations, most notably Aztec and Mayan. In many ways, these civilizations were more developed than their European contemporaries, especially in such spheres as astronomy, mathematics, and city planning. Upon seeing the Aztec capital, Tenochitlan, for the first time, Spanish explorer Bernal Diaz del Castillo was awed by its beauty and confessed that he had never seen a city in Spain that could match it. However, Diaz del Castillo's arrival coincided with that of Hernan Cortes, the Spanish explorer, who captured the Aztec capital in 1521. Since then, it has been known as Mexico City." "Mexico's struggle to become an independent country is chronicled in this second edition of Historical Dictionary of Mexico. Marvin Alisky covers the history of Mexico from the great Indian civilizations to the controversial election of Felipe Calderon in 2006 through a detailed chronology, and introduction, a map, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant people, places, and events; institutions and organizations; and political, economic, social, cultural, and religious facets."--Jacket.

"Directed toward the nonspecialist, emphasizes the development of broad themes, structures, and processes over time. Entries include a combination of longer synthetic articles and supplementary articles on important historical events, figures, and institutions. Particularly intriguing are articles on national art, literature, political, and ethnic movements, and extensive definitions of Spanish terms that no dictionary or glossary could do justice. Both volumes begin with an alphabetical list of entries and maps--volume one includes a thematic outline of entries as well." - Publisher description

"An extensive three-volume work, employing 300 international authors to compose 617 lengthy articles addressing biographies, general contextual essays, and specific topics. Entries offer information on the geography, history, arts, literature, religion, and architecture of Pre-Hispanic, Colonial, and modern Mesoamerican cultures that span from central Mexico to present-day Costa Rica." - Publisher description

"Mesoamerica is one of six major areas of the world where humans independently changed their culture from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle into settled communities, cities, and civilization. In addition to China (twice), the Indus Valley, the Fertile Crescent of southwest Asia, Egypt, and Peru, Mesoamerica was home to exciting and irreversible changes in human culture called the?Neolithic Revolution.{7f2000} The changes included domestication of plants and animals, leading to agriculture, husbandry, and eventually sedentary village life. These developments set the stage for the growth of cities, social stratification, craft specialization, warfare, writing, mathematics, and astronomy, or what we call the rise of civilization. These changes forever transformed humankind." - Publisher description

"Encyclopedia of the Ancient Maya offers an A-to-Z overview of the ancient Maya culture from its inception around 3000 BC to the Spanish Conquest after AD 1600. Over two hundred entries written by more than sixty researchers explore subjects ranging from food, clothing, and shelter to the sophisticated calendar and now-deciphered Maya writing system. They bring special attention to environmental concerns and climate variation; fresh understandings of shifting power dynamics and dynasties; and the revelations from emerging field techniques (such as LiDAR remote sensing) and newly explored sites (such as La Corona, Tamchen, and Yaxnohkah). This one-volume reference is an essential companion for students studying ancient civilizations, as well as a perfect resource for those planning to visit the Maya area. Cross-referencing, topical and alphabetical lists of entries, and a comprehensive index help readers find relevant details. Suggestions for further reading conclude each entry, while sidebars profile historical figures who have shaped Maya research. Maps highlight terrain, archaeological sites, language distribution, and more; over fifty photographs complement the volume."--Publisher's description

"In the sixteenth century, the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagun and a team of indigenous grammarians, scribes, and painters completed decades of work on an extraordinary encyclopedic project titled 'General History of the Things of New Spain', known as the 'Florentine Codex' (1575-1577). Now housed in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence and bound in three lavishly illustrated volumes, the codex is a remarkable product of cultural exchange in the early Americas. In this edited volume, experts from multiple disciplines analyze the manuscript's bilingual texts and more than 2,000 painted images and offer fascinating, new insights on its twelve books. The contributors examine the "three texts" of the codex-the original Nahuatl, its translation into Spanish, and its painted images. Together, these constitute complementary, as well as conflicting, voices of an extended dialogue that occurred in and around Mexico City. The volume chapters address a range of subjects, from Nahua sacred beliefs, moral discourse, and natural history to the Florentine artists' models and the manuscript's reception in Europe. 'The Florentine Codex' ultimately yields new perspectives on the Nahua world several decades after the fall of the Aztec empire"--Dust jacket.

"The myths and beliefs of the great Precolumbian civilizations of Mesoamerica have baffled and fascinated outsiders ever since the Spanish Conquest. Yet, until now, no single-volume introduction has existed to act as a guide to this labyrinthine symbolic world. In 'The gods and symbols of ancient Mexico and the Maya nearly 300 entries...describe the main gods and symboles of the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Maya, Teotihuacanos, Mixtecs, Toltecs and Aztecs. Topics range from jaguar and jester gods to reptile eye and rubber, from creation accounts of Mesoamerican history and relition, while a substantial bibliographical survey directs the reader to original sources and recent discussions. Dictionary entries are illustrated with photogrpahs and commissioned line drawings...." - Publisher description

Librarian's Note: See extensive bibliography under "CORTES, Hernán," pp. 269 -275.

"On October 12, 1992, five hundred years will have passed since Christopher Columbus made landfall on San Salvador. His voyage across the Atlantic Ocean set in motion a series of unprecedented social, political, economic, and cultural forces that changed the entire world. The Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Empire looks at the process by which Spain extended its influence across the globe. It provides more than 1,200 brief descriptive essays covering colonies, individuals, political institutions, legislation, treaties, conferences, wars, revolutions, technologies, social and religious groups, and military battles. References at the end of each entry provide sources of additional information for those wishing to pursue the subject further. Cross-references within the text, designated by an asterisk, will help the reader to find related items. Two appendixes provide a chronology of Spanish imperialism and a list of the individuals who presided over the viceroyalties of New Granada, New Spain, Peru, and Rio de la Plata. The Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Empire is an invaluable reference tool for scholars and students alike. It should be of interest to reference librarians at college and university libraries, as well as large public libraries." - Publisher description

"Mexico comprises 32 diverse states, and this reference is the first to succinctly profile each. Each chapter devoted to one of the states provides a contemporary snapshot of the most important information to know about the state, with essay sections on its characteristics, flora and fauna, cultural groups and languages, history, economy, social customs, arts, noteworthy places, and cuisine with representative recipes. Familiar and noteworthy names in Mexican culture are highlighted in the applicable sections. The format is perfect for students studying Spanish and travelers and general readers wanting a different angle from that provided in guidebooks and more authoritativeness than they can offer. Readers learn about the pulsing metropolis of Mexico City to the jungle isolation found in the Yucatan Peninsula. Considering the huge political, social, and economic focus on Mexico and the number of Mexican immigrants in the United Status today, Americans need to know more about Mexico and the homeland of these new immigrants. Make this one of the sources you recommend to your patrons to get a quick yet substantial feel for the states and their people. A map and photo accompany each chapter, and the volume contains a chronology, glossary, and selected bibliography." - Publisher description

"An authoritative reference work that makes biographies of prominent Mexican national politicians from the period 1884–1934 available in English. " - Publisher description

"With nearly 1,000 new biographies, updates of the existing biographies and appendices, and a fully searchable CD, this is the definitive source for biographical information on some 3,000 of Mexico's leading state and national politicians." - Publisher description of 4th edition

"Presenting an objective, balanced view of Cuba, 80 distinguished scholars and researchers survey the country's tem pestuous history from past to present. This wonderfully comprehensive two-volume set also tells the stories of Cuban exiles in the United States and other countries." - Publisher description

"This recently enlarged edition focuses on the events of this last momentous decade while the Cuban regime and its subjects struggle, bereft of outside support and subsidy. The author has expanded on the recent as well as earlier periods. New entries include all Spanish governors and captains general, transport and communications, and every present-day municipio, along with Cuba's older administrative divisions. Provides a wealth of information from the earliest human settlement to the difficulties of the last decade. Also includes several maps detailing such aspects of Cuba as its provinces, major highways, natural features and railroads." - Publisher description

"This new edition adds nearly 600 entirely new topics, replaces some 150 obsolete entries, and also provides substantial revisions to hundreds more. Every one of the 5,700+ entries has been reviewed for currency of content and bibliography. An entirely new illustration program features over 100 full-color photographs in addition to hundreds in black-and-white. National statistics have been conveniently tabulated for every one of Latin America's 37 countries. New content addresses research on prehistoric environments and cultures, U.S. Haitian interventions, the consequences of NAFTA and increased Mexican immigration, the troubled aftermaths of Pinochet's Chile and Fujimori's Peru, truth and reconciliation commissions, and the still-contested legacy of the Mexico City massacre of 1968. New leaders like Brazil's Lula da Silva and Venezuela's Hugo Ch̀vez are profiled along with hundreds of other rising figures in politics, letters, and the arts. Newly commissioned master essays synthesize current knowledge on such major regional themes as Democracy in the Americas, Hemispheric Affairs, and the Hispanic Impact on the U.S. Includes full index and table of biographical subjects by profession." --publisher description.

"This new three-volume encyclopedia features over 4,000 entries on more than 40 regions in Latin America and the Caribbean from 1920 to the present day." - Publisher description

"A guide to Latin American history includes a chronology of key events from pre-Columbian history through the present, a thematic survey following each topic (economic change, cultural development, politics and government) across time, and 300 biographies of Latin Americans throughout history."

"For a review see: Christina A. Siracusa, in Nieuwe West-Indische Gids / New West Indian Guide, vol. 65, no. 1 & 2 (1991). - Included Netherlands Antilles and Aruba."

"In three volumes of expert, innovative scholarship, Literary Cultures of Latin America offers a multidisciplinary reference on one of the most distinctive literary cultures in the world. In topically arranged articles written by a team of international scholars, Literary Cultures of Latin America explores the shifting problems that have arisen across national borders, geographic regions, time periods, linguistic systems, and cultural traditions in literary history. Bucking the tradition of focusing almost exclusively on the great canons of literature, this unique reference work casts its net wider, exploring pop culture, sermons, scientific essays, and more. While collaborators are careful to note that these volumes offer only a snapshot of the diverse body of Latin American literature, Literary Cultures of Latin America highlights unique cultural perspectives that have never before received academic attention. Comprised of signed articles each with complete bibliographies, this unique reference also takes into account relevant political, anthropological, economic, geographic, historical, demographic, and sociological research in order to understand the full context of each community's literature."