According to the Pitt-Greensburg course description, this course "will survey the history of Latin America from pre-Columbian times to the independence movements of Spanish America and Portuguese Brazil.  Some of the major topics that will be discussed include: Amerindian culture, the encounter between Europeans and Amerindians (otherwise known as the Conquest), the rise and fall of colonial empires and colonial society, and the civil wars of independence.  Emphasis will be placed on the interaction between the different cultures that met in the Americas, how these relationships shaped colonial societies, and how elements of this complex interaction persisted and/or were contested by different social groups before and after independence."

• Develop a topic that asks a question or poses a problem that interests you.

• Select appropriate search terms for your subject. In the field of Colonial Latin American history, you will want to be more specific in your search terms to yield better results. For example:
  • Simon Bolivar
  • Massacre at Cajamarca
  • Francisco Pizarro
  • Hernan Cortes
  • Hapsburg Dynasty
  • Bourbon Dynasty
  • Moctezuma

• Search PittCat and subject oriented databases.
• Revise your topic. Determine how you will answer your question.
• Evaluate your resources carefully!
• When in doubt, contact your librarian.

These sample worksheets will help you refine your research topic and explain what a literature review is.