FLAS 324: Introduction to Hispanic Literature II

Finding documents online

Use the online primary source collections available through the library (listed to the left).  The HathiTrust Digital Library provides complete scans of many older books. 

University archives, national libraries and historical and cultural societies often have online digital collections with representative cultural texts and other primary sources. Example: Biblioteca Virtual Migues De Certantes 

Google can also be an effective tool for tracking down a particular document - Search on the title of the document with the author and the word text (or digital or document) to track down the original text. Example: malinche AND text 

With documents found through Google, be sure to consider the provenance of the text. What agency has taken responsibility for digitizing or publishing this text online?  Do they have guidelines for maintaining the integrity of sources?

Finding documents in print

Sourcebooks or readers on a time period often include selected representative texts and provide a view of the contemporary debate. Search library catalogs on your topic, including the word sources in your search. Example: modernism and sources  

Historical Criticism considers a work of literature as a statement, a text engaged in debate with contemporary cultural mores and other texts. This historical context provides "a larger field of meaning in which a text can and should be situated in order to be understood fully." * How do you identify representative texts within a cultural debate or discourse?  Some approaches:

• Look at biographical sources about an author to discern the author's concerns and opinions within the cultural, artistic, and political debates of their time. (For example, James Joyce's views on Catholicism, British imperialism in Ireland, & realism in literature).  What contemporary texts or cultural movements was the author responding to?
• Look at literary criticism of the work grounded in cultural or political history.  These analyses usually refer to historical texts that represent the cultural climate and debate. 
• Do some research on the time period when the work was written, with an eye toward political and cultural controversies.  Are there historical texts that represent these controversies? 
• Consult encyclopedias and other reference sources.  Reference articles concerning a historical figure, event or movement may note important texts.

*"Historical Criticism" From An Introduction to Criticism: Literature/Film/Culture by Michael Ryan