Latin American Studies Resources

Images

Zines in Vanderbilt Special Collections

Latin American Special Collections at Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt’s collection of Latin American materials is one of the library’s principal strengths. Vanderbilt established the first Institute of Brazilian Studies in the United States in 1947; hence, Brazil, particularly Brazilian history, has been a focus of the collection. Andean and Mayan studies, particularly in archaeology and anthropology in Peru and Guatemala are other strengths. 

The Colombian collection is Vanderbilt's most distinctive Latin American Collections offering scholars a rich array of highly varied primary resources:  

  • J. León Helguera Collection which includes 19th and early 20th-century manuscripts, broadsides, pamphlets and newspapers, among many other rare materials
  • The Manuel Zapata Olivella Collection of manuscripts, papers, transcriptions and recordings–a treasure trove of ethnographies, literary manuscripts and other Afro-Colombiana belonging to the acclaimed novelist, anthropologist and physician.

Other special collections include early travel accounts of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Simon Collier tango collection, Latin American and Latinx zines, comics, posters, and artists books; and the Slave Societies Digital Archive, which includes documents from Brazil, Colombia, and Cuba.

 

Primary Resources

Latin American Travelogues

Latin American Travelogues

The goal of this project is to create a digital collection of Latin American travel accounts written in the 16th-19th centuries. The works selected are linked to critical essays produced by undergraduate students who are enrolled in Prof. Green's courses on Latin American history. This site will serve as a free-access visual and research tool for students and scholars alike.

PARES - Portal de Archivos Españoles

Contains digital documents from a variety of archives in Spain. Maintained by the Spanish government.