Free Latin America Essay Examples & Topics

Latin America is a group of countries from the South American continent. It includes Mexico, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean, where they speak the Romance language.

Latin America presents a mixture of many cultures. African, Indigenous, and European cultures had the most impact on it. One of the examples of this mixture might be the Mexican folk music “Son.”

In this article, you’ll see methods and advice for writing a Latin America essay. You will find them helpful for creating any project related to the contemporary challenges, culture, or history. Plus, our experts have composed Latin America research topics that you can use for practice.

Latin America is diverse and fascinating to learn about. Writing an essay about it might be a pleasure, especially if you read our recommendations. They’ll help you follow the academic structure and express your point correctly.

Here are our tips on composing an essay about Latin America:

  • Don’t limit yourself. Latin America is diverse. So, try not to explore only one country in your paper. Latin America’s history is broad too. That’s why make sure to include different aspects and interesting facts.
  • Research various features. If you’ve decided to write about one country, cover different aspects of its structure, culture, etc. For example, political and economic organization. Or elaborate on traditional music and dance in one paper.
  • Start with the basics . Cover the geography, economics, or other basic information about the country or area in the introduction. The first paragraph should grab your readers’ attention. Thus, provide some facts for their knowledge in an engaging way.
  • Work on your thesis. It summarizes the main point of your essay in one statement. The thesis is the last sentence in the introduction paragraph.
  • Structure your essay well. One paper covers one message that you state in your thesis. One paragraph covers one idea that you convey in the topic sentence. Body paragraphs provide arguments and supporting evidence.
  • Write your conclusion. Restate your thesis statement here and summarize your arguments. You can achieve this with our conclusion generator . Do not make mention any new points in this part.
  • Refer to trustworthy sources. It is crucial while writing about a country’s history and culture. List them in the references, and don’t forget to cite correctly.

Now, you can proceed to write your essay using our advice. The only thing you are missing is a good topic idea. You can come up with one yourself, use our topic generator , or pick one from the list below.

So, here are 23 Latin America topics you can use for your essay:

  • Latin American authors and their impact on world culture.
  • Colonialism in Latin America and its effects.
  • How does globalization affect Latin America?
  • The significance of musical instruments of Latin America.
  • The reasons behind poverty in Latin America.
  • Does religion affect Latin America’s culture?
  • Slavery abolishment in Latin America.
  • Did the American Revolution affect Latin American history?
  • How did nationalism impact Latin America?
  • Gender equality in Latin America.
  • Latin America in the Colonial Era.
  • Caribbean infrastructure and its types.
  • Why did the USA support Latin America’s independence?
  • Hispanic culture, traditions, and customs.
  • The ways people deal with crime in Latin America.
  • The imperialism’s impact on Latin America.
  • Democracy’s success and failures in Latin America.
  • Catholic Church and Christianity in Brazil, Mexico, and Peru.
  • How Cold War influenced Latin America.
  • Is the Latin American market big?
  • Catholics and Protestants in Latin America.
  • COVID-19 impact on central banks in Latin America.
  • Latin American literature and its effect on world culture.

Thanks for reading! You can find free Latin America essay examples below. They are great for learning how to provide your argumentation.

109 Best Essay Examples on Latin America

The broken spears: the spanish conquest of the aztecs.

  • Words: 1394

Critical Research on “The idea on Latin America” by Walter Mignolo

  • Words: 1061

Modern Latin America by Skidmore et al.

Conquest of mexico in aztecs’ and cortes’ presentation, globalization in latin american countries.

  • Words: 1990

Mexican Identity in “The Labyrinth of Solitude” by Octavio Paz

  • Words: 1848

Effects of Silver Mining on Indigenous People in Mexico

  • Words: 2946

Popular Sovereignty in Latin America

The post-revolutionary mexico: race and national identity, the nicaraguan revolution: achievements and disadvantages, cuba’s contemporary and historical migration dynamics.

  • Words: 4776

Mayan Cultural Screen in The Blood of the Kings

The process of mexican independence, the significance and legacy of altar q in copan, three decades of chavismo and venezuelan opposition.

  • Words: 2032

Latin America Impacted by Global Cold War

History of colonial latin america, the bourbon reforms role in latin america, the history of the inca empire, emancipation of caribbeans, cubans, and dominicans, the history of latino lynching in america, why did the creoles lead the fight in cuba, geo-cultural influences in latin america and the us, cuba’s historical transformations and cultural formation, the unknown history of latino lynchings, “the underdogs”: mexican revolution study, latin america and the cold war.

  • Words: 1179

The Hyper Presidentialism of Hugo Chavez

The role of foreign powers in the history of latin america, latino experiences in us military, challenges through revolutions and collective action in latin america.

  • Words: 1033

The Latin American Colonialism and the Further Resistance

  • Words: 2556

Latin-American Studies: Joaquin Murrieta

  • Words: 2427

“The Underdogs” by Mariano Azuela: Criticism of the Mexican Revolution

  • Words: 1399

1910-1940 Mexican Political Development

  • Words: 1537

The History of Cuban Insurrection: A Feeling of Inequality Among the Citizens and the Need to Rectify This

  • Words: 3100

Havana and the Cuban Revolution as Seen Through Cuban Cinema

  • Words: 3880

Hispanic Nation: Brief Retrospective

  • Words: 1428

The Plight of Mexican Americans From 1800 to 1930

  • Words: 3054

Pablo Escobar and Cocaine Trade in Colombia

  • Words: 4346

Authoritarianism in Latin America and Chile

  • Words: 2767

Military Dictatorships in Latin America

Cuban history: short review.

  • Words: 2779

The History of Mexican Revolution From 1910 to 1920

  • Words: 1252

Latin American Dictators: Batista

  • Words: 1083

Spanish and Nahua Views of the Conquest of Mexico

  • Words: 2449

Venezuelan Revolution, Its Origin and Consequences

  • Words: 4488

The Way to Colombian Independence

  • Words: 1998

Liberation Theology in Latin America Analysis

  • Words: 2140

Latin America’s Revolutionary Movements

Spanish-aztec encounter and columbian exchange, mesoamerican states, empires, culture and history, the tlatelolco massacre in historic investigation.

  • Words: 1276

The United States and Occupation in Cuba

Latin american independence development.

  • Words: 2267

The Age of Revolution in Latin America

  • Words: 1763

Latin America Colonization Period

  • Words: 2625

Modern State Making in Latin America

  • Words: 2004

Slavery in “A Brief History of the Caribbean”

  • Words: 2271

The Cuban Revolution: Brief History

Pathologies of power: suffering in haiti.

  • Words: 1066

The Process Conquest and Colonization in Latin America

  • Words: 1949

The Cuban Revolution: History

  • Words: 1116

The Panama Canal Negotiations

Belize and mexico history: people and civilizations.

  • Words: 1135

The Chicano Movement Strategies

History: “a brazilian slave of the 18 century” by j. f. furtado, latin america: the history of changes, how is narco-governance related to political liberalism.

  • Words: 1846

Nationalism Does Not Form a Single Fraternal Community

  • Words: 1092

Abolition of Slavery in Brazil

  • Words: 1354

Santa Cruz and Peru-Bolivia Confederation

Andres de santa cruz and the peru-bolivia confederation, silver in spanish america, a history of the cuban revolution, the politics of the catholic church in latin america, colonial portuguese brazil: sugar and slavery.

  • Words: 1474

Is Latin American Unity a good idea? Why/Why not?

  • Words: 1976

Maya Public Ritual Arts

  • Words: 1418

Colombian Political System: Medellin and Cali Cartels

The history of the mexican revolution in 1910-1942.

  • Words: 1084

Mexican Drug War: Political, Social, and Economy Damages

  • Words: 2243

Caribbean Diasporas, Historical and Comparative

  • Words: 1073

Baja Mining Boom of The 1870’s

  • Words: 3044

The dark side of Guatemala in the ’80s

  • Words: 1892

Latin American National Culture vs. Political Domination

Dictatorship in latin america, pope’s visit to nicaragua, evolution of the chilean government after the ruthless regime of augusto pinochet.

  • Words: 2324

Impacts of Mexican and Cuban Revolutions

The impact of coca eradication in colombia and bolivia.

  • Words: 1338

Puerto Rico under Spanish Rule

The inca empire as a great civilization of the pre-columbian america.

  • Words: 1099

Nationalization of Mexico’s Oil and Gas Industry

  • Words: 4067

19th Century’s Impact of Haitian Revolution on Cuba

Decline of technotitlan (1520-1521).

  • Words: 1874

Brief History of the Haitian Revolution

The idea of the middle class: white collar workers and peruvian society.

  • Words: 1337

The Successor by Roderic Ai Camp

  • Words: 1079

Mexican Politics, Culture and Drug Wars

  • Words: 2102

Slavery: The Stronghold of the Brazil Economy

Caribbean rum: history and culture.

  • Words: 2236

The Great Depression in Latin America

  • Words: 1112

The Cuban Revolution: The Battle Worth Fighting for, the Results Worth Grieving about

Cuban runaway slave experience, history of mexico between 19th and 21th centuries, neo-liberalism in latin america: brazilian and cuban models.

  • Words: 2845

Latin American Independence Movements-Haitian Revolution

Memoirs of a border ranger.

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Latin American Literature and Culture, 1492-Present

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latin american literature essay topics

  • Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes "La Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes ofrece un fondo virtual de obras en lenguas hispánicas con acceso gratuito desde cualquier lugar del mundo a través de internet. Nuestro catálogo presenta un amplio repertorio de contenidos en distintos formatos: libros en versión texto digital y facsimilar, periódicos y revistas, tesis doctorales, archivos sonoros y audiovisuales, vídeos en Lengua de Signos Española, imágenes..."

A Yavapai College student explains the benefits of using library databases for research over searching the web.

Databases -- Start Here

  • Latino Literature This link opens in a new window Latino Literature covers poetry, fiction, and drama written in English and Spanish from Chicano, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican and other Latin writers working in the United States. more... less... Latino Literature covers poetry, fiction, and drama written in English and Spanish from Chicano, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican and other Latin writers working in the United States. Almost a third of the database is made up of previously unpublished or rare materials. Also included are supplementary resources, such as playbills and performance material, poetry readings, book presentation flyers, book covers, and photographs

Presents manuscript, book, and newspaper content in the areas of Hispanic American civil rights, religion, and women’s rights ranging from the eighteenth through the twentieth century. The database features over 250,000 pages of manuscript content, over 100 newspaper titles, and over 400 books. The collection draws its content from the “Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project” that seeks to gather lost or rare documents and publications pertinent to Hispanic history and culture. Formerly called Arte Publico Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 2.

  • MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window The essential database for identifying scholarly and critical studies of literature and folklore around the world and from all time periods. It includes related fields, such as linguistics, film, and popular culture. more... less... Provides access to citations from journals, series, books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies. Subjects consist of literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory & criticism, and dramatic arts in addition to the historical aspects of printing and publishing. The indexed materials coverage is international and includes almost 60 titles from JSTOR's language and literature collection as well as links to full text. Produced by the Modern Language Association.
  • Artemis Literary Sources This link opens in a new window Artemis Literary Sources integrates full-text literary content with metadata and subject indexing and provides workflow tools to analyze information. more... less... You can research authors and their works, literary movements and genres. Search across your library's Literature databases to find full text of literary works, journal articles, literature criticism, reviews, biographical information and overviews.
  • Fuente Académica Premier This link opens in a new window A multidisciplinary, full-text database of over 650 scholarly journals and books in Spanish, Portuguese, or English from Latin American, Spain, and Portugal. more... less... Fuente Académica Premier is an extensive full-text database that contains over 650 scholarly journals and books from Latin America, Portugal, and Spain in Spanish, Portuguese, or English. This is a multidisciplinary database that covers all major subject areas, with particular emphasis on agriculture, biological sciences, business, computer science, economics, history, law, literature, medical sciences, philosophy, political science, psychology, religion, and sociology. Fuente Académica Premier is updated regularly.
  • Latin American Women Writers This link opens in a new window Latin American Women Writers is a searchable collection of prose, poetry, and drama composed by women writing in Mexico, Central America, and South America. more... less... In addition to prose, poetry, and drama by women writers in Latin America, this collection includes essays by Latin American feminists and revolutionaries. This is a work in progress that will contain 100,000 pages of prose, poetry, and essays along with 300 plays when complete.

Specialized Databases

  • Sabin Americana, 1500-1926 This link opens in a new window This digital collection contains primary works about the Americas published throughout the world from 1500 to the early 1900's. more... less... Sabin Americana, 1500-1926 offers full-text access to more than 29,000 titles about the Americas including accounts of exploration, trade, colonialism, Native Americans, etc. Primary sources include books, pamphlets, serials, broadsides, and other historical documentation that describe the society, politics, religious beliefs, customs, and momentous events that characterized life in the Americas.
  • ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global (PQDT Global) This link opens in a new window Contains citations & abstracts for theses and dissertations from institutions in the North America and Europe. Many are available in full text. more... less... The Dissertations Abstracts database contains citations for dissertations and theses from institutions in the North America and Europe. Citations for dissertations published from 1980 forward also include abstracts. Citations for master's theses from 1988 forward include abstracts. Titles published from 1997 forward have 24 page previews and are available as full text PDF documents.
  • Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts (LLBA) (1973 - Current) This link opens in a new window Focused on the nature and use of language. Covers research in linguistics; research in language; and research in speech, language and hearing pathology more... less... Focusing on the nature and use of language, LLBA covers three fundamental areas: research in linguistics (the nature and structure of human speech); research in language (speech sounds, sentence and word structure, meaning in language forms, spelling, phonetics); and research in speech, language and hearing pathology. Document types indexed are bibliographies, books, conferences, journal articles, and book reviews. Coverage is international.
  • International Medieval Bibliography Online (IMB) This link opens in a new window The International Medieval Bibliography Online (IMB), established in 1967, is the leading interdisciplinary bibliography of the Middle Ages. more... less... The International Medieval Bibliography Online (IMB), established in 1967, is the leading interdisciplinary bibliography of the Middle Ages. It indexes articles, notes, and similar literature on medieval subjects in journals, Festschriften, conference proceedings, and collected essays. It covers all aspects of medieval studies within the date range of 400 to 1500 for the entire continent of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Discipline areas to which it is relevant: Archaeology, Art History, Classics, English Literature, French Language and Literature, History, Medieval & Renaissance Studies, and Philosophy.
  • C19: The Nineteenth Century Index This link opens in a new window A super-index to nineteenth century books, periodical, official documents, newspapers and archives. more... less... C19: The Nineteenth Century is a source for discovering nineteenth-century books, periodicals, official documents, newspapers and archives.  It's a super-index to more than 16 million documents that includes the Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals, Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, the Nineteenth Century Short Title Catalogue, and the British Periodicals.  It links to other 19th century full-text sources in the UTA Library's collection such as American Periodical Series Online, Periodicals Archive Online and Palmer's Full-Text Online.
  • Arte Publico Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 1 This link opens in a new window Provides access to a vast collection on U.S. Hispanic history, literature, and culture, from colonial times to 1960. Content is in Spanish or English with indexing and searching available in both languages. more... less... The Arte Publico Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 1 provides access to a digital collection of historical content pertaining to U.S. Hispanic history, literature, and culture. The collection draws its content from the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project , the largest international project to locate, preserve, and disseminate Hispanic culture of the United States in its written form, from colonial times to 1960. It includes thousands of historical articles, newspapers, religious and political pamphlets, broadsides, historical books, letters, short stories, poems, advertisements, and more. The content is mostly in Spanish (80%) with some materials in English (20%). It is indexed and searchable in both languages.

Arte Público Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 2 presents thematic content focusing on the evolution of Hispanic civil rights, religious thought, and the growing presence of women writers from the late 19th and 20th centuries.

The Arte Publico Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 2 provides access to a digital collection of historical content pertaining to U.S. Hispanic history, literature, and culture. The collection draws its content from the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project , the largest international project to locate, preserve, and disseminate Hispanic culture of the United States in its written form, from colonial times to 1960. It includes thousands of historical articles, newspapers, religious and political pamphlets, broadsides, historical books, letters, short stories, poems, advertisements, and more. The content is mostly in Spanish (80%) with some materials in English (20%). It is indexed and searchable in both languages.

The ARTstor website content has been migrated to the JSTOR platform, as the ARTstor website retired on August 1, 2024.  A digital library of almost two million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences, encompassing artistic and historical traditions across many time periods and cultures.

ARTstor is a nonprofit, digital library comprised of almost two million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences from outstanding museums, photographers, libraries, scholars, photo archives, and artists and artists' estates. The database encompasses artistic and historical traditions across many time periods and cultures, including architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design, as well as many other forms of visual culture. It is designed to be used by art historians, as well as researchers in fields that do not traditionally use images. The database can be searched by keyword, or, through the advanced search, by creator, title, location, repository, subject, material, style or period, work type, culture, description, technique, and/or number. A suite of software tools also allow users to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes. Updated regularly.

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The modern essay

Eugenio de Santa Cruz y Espejo, Francisco Javier

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  • Latin American literature - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
  • Latin American literature - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
  • Table Of Contents

All of this literary production was accompanied by a strong essayistic tradition whose main topic was the distinctiveness of Latin American culture and, within that culture, the individual cultures of the various countries. Many of the poets and fiction writers mentioned before also wrote essays in this vein: Carpentier, Paz, Borges, Lezama Lima, and Sarduy, for example. But there were writers whose chief production was the essay: the Uruguayan José Enrique Rodó , the Peruvian José Carlos Mariátegui , the Mexicans José Vasconcelos and Alfonso Reyes , the Dominican Pedro Henríquez Ureña , the Venezuelan Mariano Picón Salas, the Cuban Fernando Ortiz , the Argentine Ezequiel Martínez Estrada , the Puerto Rican Antonio Pedreira, and the Colombian Germán Arciniegas . In many cases the issue was how to incorporate marginal cultures (African, Indian) within Latin America into the mainstream culture of the area and of each individual country. The most important and influential of these essays was Ariel (1900; Ariel ) by Rodó. In the wake of Spain’s humiliating defeat by the United States in the Spanish American War , Rodó muses about the differences between the cultures of North and South America. In reply to Sarmiento’s glorification of North American culture, Rodó calls for adherence to the spiritual, artistic values of Latin American culture, against the pragmatism and utilitarianism of the great new power to the north. His essay had such a positive reception that “Ariel clubs” were founded in various Latin American countries. Most of the essayistic tradition either followed Rodó or argued against him. In the 1920s Mariátegui proposed a Marxist interpretation of Peruvian society and culture in his 7 ensayos de interpretación de la realidad peruana (1928; Seven Interpretive Essays on Peruvian Reality ). Written in a lively style and surprisingly devoid of cant, Mariátegui’s essay argued in favour of an alliance between the political and artistic avant-gardes. A more scholarly approach was that of Ureña, whose elegant and profound Seis ensayos en busca de nuestra expresión (1928; “Six Essays in Search of Our Mode of Expression”) provides a broad-ranging interpretation of Latin American culture going back to colonial times. In a similar vein, Mariano Picón Salas published in 1944 his De la conquista a la independencia: tres siglos de historia cultural hispanoamericana ( A Cultural History of Spanish America, from Conquest to Independence ). These essays were incorporated into the curricula of universities throughout the world. At midcentury a powerful essay by the Mexican poet Octavio Paz , El laberinto de la soledad (1950; The Labyrinth of Solitude ), offered an existentialist and psychoanalytic interpretation of Mexican culture. It had an enormous influence on Mexican fiction and poetry and was imitated by Latin American essayists elsewhere.

At the turn of the 21st century, Latin America literature seemed to be shifting from the modern to the postmodern . The line of demarcation is not clear. Postmodern literature avails itself of most of the techniques introduced by modern literature, particularly self-consciousness of its own status as literature. The difference, perhaps, is that postmodern literature does not aspire to be profound or pretend that it can make momentous pronouncements about the self, society, the nation, or humankind. The playful element of modern literature has prevailed, a move toward lightness. In Latin America this has meant moving away from the thematics of cultural identity that dominated modern literature and going back to the Romantics . Fiction was dispersed, disseminated among characters of shifting sexuality who did not make up conventional family groups. In the plots of these novels serendipity seems to rule. The herald of postmodern change had been Severo Sarduy . No writer of his stature or that of his predecessors (Borges, Cortázar, García Márquez, etc.) emerged to solidify this tendency. The most significant statement on postmodernism itself was provided by Cuban exile novelist, short-story writer, and essayist Antonio Benítez Rojo (1931), published in his La isla que se repite: el Caribe y la perspectiva postmoderna (1989; The Repeating Island ), a worthy successor to the essayistic tradition sketched before.

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Hector Hoyos

Hector Hoyos, an assistant professor of Iberian and Latin American Cultures at Stanford, has written a new book about Latin American authors and their perspectives on globalization. (Image credit: Mark Nye)

In recent years, the late Chilean novelist Roberto Bolaño has become the most famous figure on the Latin American literary scene. No doubt, Bolaño’s groundbreaking novels, such as Los detectives salvajes ( The Savage Detectives ) and 2666, have moved legions of readers.

“In many circles, Bolaño has come to represent the entirety of contemporary Latin American literature and its contribution to world literature,” said Stanford author Héctor Hoyos .

But Hoyos, an assistant professor of Iberian and Latin American cultures, also says Bolaño’s dominance is in some ways overshadowing other important Latin American literary voices with worldwide resonance.

In his new book, Beyond Bolaño: The Global Latin American Novel , Hoyos reveals how Latin American literature by both internationally well-known figures such as Bolaño and other, less recognized, authors can help readers achieve a fresh perspective on global culture and globalization.

“My book really starts from the interrogation as to why certain authors gain widespread international acclaim while others do not attract so much attention,” he said.

Through an analysis of the works of Bolaño, Diamela Eltit and César Aira, as well as novelists Mario Bellatin, Chico Buarque, Alberto Fuguet, Fernando Vallejo and other contemporaries, Hoyos sheds light on “a previously unexplored aspect of world literature.”

Hoyos argues that literature from Latin America shows remarkable diversity and reveals trends in how people read and write in today’s globalized era.

“I am interested in the role that different authors play in reshaping world literature, particularly through innovations in form, voice, perspective and representation,” said Hoyos, whose research centers on literary theory and globalization.

Hoyos said it’s especially valuable to examine Latin American literature in this way, because world literature is in a “critical moment” as an emerging, transnational canon takes shape, “where books from different areas are read both for their national and international relevance.”

Beyond Bolaño

In the various novels that he studies, from Argentina to Mexico, Hoyos sees innovative and informative viewpoints emerge on topics that reach beyond Latin America, such as the global marketplace or the history of Nazism. “What interests me are those authors who share an interest with Bolaño in writing fiction that revolves around how we live and what we do, as a world culture, in the contemporary world, and how they contribute to our global story.”

Hoyos said that novels such as these serve to provide a unique regional perspective and to bring it into networks of conversation: “These works, at once national and transnational, both of Latin America and of the world, help us to achieve critical perspective on our increasingly integrated and connected world.”

Chilean author Diamela Eltit’s novella, Mano de obra, is one of the books Hoyos examines. In Eltit’s story about working in a supermarket, Hoyos says, the author critically depicts this space of explicit consumption as a symbol of a financially integrated world.

Meanwhile, in El Carrito , another thought-provoking story about grocery stores, Argentine writer César Aira posits the shopping cart as an evil entity, which Hoyos says leads readers to reflect on their role in a developing world culture that is predominantly market-oriented.

“While for Shakespeare all the world was a stage, or for [Pedro] Calderón a dream,” Hoyos said, “it is telling that these two contemporary Latin American authors see the world as a supermarket. After 1989, most of the world entered into a common market, and this percolates fiction in many ways.”

Another example that Hoyos explores is how contemporary authors, such as Jorge Volpi and Ignacio Padilla, as well as Bolaño, have adopted Nazism as a theme in their writing, a theme which is often principally viewed from a European and North American perspective.

“One may suspect there is a hint of U.S.-Eurocentrism in expecting that contemporary Latin American writers are somehow further removed from and have little to say about those horrible events,” Hoyos said.

Rather, Hoyos contends, there is a view of Nazism from the Latin American perspective that contributes to an understanding of that global phenomenon.

“Bolaño wrote a book about fascism, Nazi Literature in the Americas , that created an imagined, fictional and counterfactual vision of fascism and its impact in the Americas, shedding fresh light on that terrible phenomenon,” Hoyos said.

“It is vital to engage with Bolaño’s work,” Hoyos said, “but what motivates me is to look beyond his work to the other authors who are a fundamental part of Latin America’s world literature and who look at the region in the world.”

A Latin American perspective

In part, Hoyos notes, readers are attracted to Bolaño’s life story. He was very ill in the last years of his life and died of liver failure while working on his epic novel, 2666 .

At that point, Bolaño had already received widespread acclaim for his 1998 masterpiece, The Savage Detectives . The novel takes readers on a journey around the world: across Mexico and to Catalonia, Spain; Managua, Nicaragua; Luanda, Angola; Tel Aviv, Israel; Vienna; and Liberia. It is fundamentally about a fictional Latin American literary movement’s place in the world.

“A novel like that provides a literary map to navigate a new consciousness of the world as a whole. But it is not unique in its theme, as other authors also elaborate intriguing visions of the world from a Latin American perspective,” Hoyos states.

Taking Bolaño as a point of departure, Hoyos sees a new global trend in Latin American fiction.

For Hoyos, a “global novel” is a work that has a world literary standing and significance beyond local and regional contexts. For the authors he writes about in this new book, a global perspective includes addressing experiences that transcend national boundaries, such as walking behind a shopping cart.

“The world does not quite fit into a book,” Hoyos admits. “But I do see the emerging articulation of the study of literature on a world scale where various Latin American voices are vital, and where these narratives matter beyond their immediate national and regional contexts.

“Latin American literature is already a pan-national context of different national traditions that collaborate in dynamic ways.”

Hoyos’ research on post-1989 Latin American literature “aims not to make Latin American criticism fall in step with world literature, but rather to model world literature after Latin American literature.”

“We are seeing an emergence of this phenomenon in Latin America, of authors who are concerned with globalization and its impact not only within their countries and Latin America, but also as part of our overarching human culture. These works have both the world and Latin America as their chambers of resonance.”

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Latina/o, Caribbean, & Latin American Studies Subject Guide — Exploring Broad Topics in Latina/o, Caribbean, & Latin American Studies

  • Thinking about Topics
  • Narrowing Topics in Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies
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Exploring Broad Topics

Exploring broad topics in recent Latin American Studies scholarship is a good way to start thinking about potential topics for your essay, research paper, or project. As you explore some of the broad topics in recent scholarship, consider:

  • What are the expectations around the essay, paper, or project? Are there specific geographic or temporal requirements for the assignment?
  • What interests you most about some of the broad topics? What are some of the ways that they connect with your interests inside and outside of the classroom?

For the next steps of identifying and narrowing a specific topic and finding sources, start to notice: 

  • How do scholars describe their topics? Do you notice key terms that repeat or that might be useful for a broader search?
  • Are there specific countries or regions that are more or less represented in scholarship on a particular topic? 
  • Do you notice overlap between some of the broad topics? How might you combine some of the topics to narrow or expand your own research focus?

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120 amazing latin american research paper topics.

January 2, 2020

Do you have the task of writing a Latin American research paper? The first step is coming up with a great topic. This is one of the major challenges for most students. But you do not need to worry anymore because we are here to help. Here are the best 120 Latin American research topics that you can consider.

latin american research paper topics

Mixed Latin American Research Paper Topics

  • A closer look at the history of the church and human rights in Latin America.
  • An in-depth analysis of Latin American feminist theology.
  • Exploring the women’s rights in Latin America: A case study of Peru and Colombia.
  • Analyzing the implications of foreign debt on Latin America countries.
  • The impact of the Cold War on Latin America.
  • Analyzing the commonest management styles in Latin American companies.
  • Discuss the main components of Latino culture.
  • Analyzing key economic challenges affecting economic development in Latin America.
  • Impact of outside trading forces on Latin America development.
  • Significance of tourism in Latin America.
  • Analyzing social, political trends in Latin America: A case study of Argentina and Cuba.
  • Evaluate the role played by the military in Latin America studies.
  • Analyzing the first contact between early Spanish settlers and Latin Americans.
  • Meso American civilizations: A case study of Maya civilization.
  • Implications of music on Latino children: A case study of salsa music.
  • Modernism in South America.
  • The history of the Panama Canal.
  • Political consequences of Neo-Liberalism in South America.
  • Analyzing the invention of Latin America.
  • Taking a closer look at the new age of Latin America.
  • Evaluating US involvement in Latin America.

Latin America Research Topics about Brazil

  • Analyzing the cultural relations between Brazil and the US.
  • A closer look at the evolution of Brazil culture.
  • Evaluating the different governments of Brazil.
  • The economy of Brazil during the Cold War.
  • The influence of the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil.
  • Discuss the importance of Brazil’s rainforest in addressing global warming.
  • Comparing Brazil and the US education systems.
  • Comparing the Indian and Brazilian economies.
  • Brazil and global economics: A Closer look at Brazil Role in the BRICS.
  • Neo-liberalism IN Brazil: What are the consequences?
  • The Brazil’s quest for autonomy: Analyzing Brazil’s foreign policy under President Lula.
  • Urban poverty in Rio.

Latin American Topics about Costa Rica

  • Evaluating the business climate in Costa Rica.
  • A closer look at Costa Rica’s economic challenges in the Cold War era.
  • A comprehensive analysis of Costa Rica’s economic performance.
  • Efforts to address global warming in Costa Rica: A case study of Klinki Forestry Project.
  • Analyzing the main problems facing Costa Rica.
  • Deforestation in Costa Rica.
  • Tourism in Costa Rica.
  • Comparing the history of coffee in Costa Rica and Brazil.
  • Analyzing contemporary issues in Costa Rica Tourism.
  • Analyzing the main exports and imports of Costa Rica.
  • A closer look at key political issues in Costa Rica.
  • Comparing culture and ethics in Costa Rica and Mexico.
  • What is the future of Costa Rica’s economic growth?

Unique Latin American Research Topics

  • Effects of El Nino in South America.
  • The relationship between Argentina’s economy and the black market.
  • Key elements of Argentina’s democracy.
  • Analyzing the sexual behavior of Amazon people.
  • The history of Chile’s economic growth.
  • Comparing the economic growths of Chile and Mexico.
  • Analyzing the persistence of drug lords in Colombia.
  • What implications does drug trafficking have on the Colombian economy?
  • Comparing the education system of Peru and Brazil.
  • The effect of remittance in Latin America economy.
  • History of slavery in South America.
  • Democracy in Latin America.
  • A closer look at enlightenment in Latin America.
  • Analyzing independent movements in Latin America
  • Analyzing Latin America after the end of the Wars of Independence.

Latin American Topics on the Caribbean

  • Evaluating the significance of Grenada Island during the Cold War.
  • Comparing the ethnic slave rebellion in Bahia and Caribbean.
  • Comparing the history of slavery in the Caribbean and the US.
  • A review of the Haiti revolution.
  • Highlighting the struggles of Marielitos.
  • A closer look at socioeconomic struggles in Barbados.
  • Analyzing the problem of racism in Cuba.
  • A closer look at the history of Haiti between 1843 and 1973.
  • Analyzing the US involvement in Haiti in the early 20 th century.

Latin American Research Paper Topics about Cuba

  • Analyzing music development in Cuba.
  • What factors drive Cubans to immigrate to the US?
  • Analyzing the Aesthetic beauty of Cuba.
  • Comparing slavery in Virginia, the USA with Slavery in Cuba.
  • What is Fidel Castro’s greatest social economic contribution to Cuba?
  • Comparing the Cuban and Brazilian economies.
  • What are the key cultural similarities between Cuban and Americans?
  • Evaluating the economic performance of Cuba after World War II.
  • A closer look at the medical industry in Cuba.
  • What is the future of Cuban economic growth?

Latin America Topics about Guatemala

  • Analyzing the performance of Guatemala economy after the Cold War.
  • A review of Guatemala’s attitudes towards Axis and Allied powers in the World War II.
  • Comparing Guatemala and Costa Rica’s coffee management processes.
  • A review of Guatemala’s trade relationships with the US.
  • Analyzing the sufferings and abuses of Guatemala’s children during the country’s civil wars.
  • Guatemala history: Evaluating the fall of President Arbenz.
  • Comparing the culture of Guatemalans and Brazilians.
  • Analyzing the Guatemala government’s efforts on conservation.

Latin America Research Topics on Mexico

  • What are the main challenges of the Mexico’s education system?
  • Analyzing the Zapatista Revolution.
  • Was the 1914-1916 Woodrow Wilson’s intervention in Mexico Justified?
  • The colonization of Texas by Mexico.
  • Comparing the Mexican art of the 19 th and 20 th centuries.
  • Analyzing the hybrid Mexico culture.
  • What are the key success factors of the 1990s Mexican film success?
  • Comparing the Mexican and US culture: What are the key differences?
  • A closer look at the economic performance of Mexico after the Cold War?
  • Illegal Mexican immigrants.
  • Should the US use a more protected border with Mexico?
  • The history of Aztec Empire.
  • What is the future of Mexico economy?
  • Analyzing the major problems that Mexico experienced under the leadership of President Zedillo.
  • Comparing the US and Mexico justice systems.
  • What were the main causes of the Mexican Peso crisis of the 1990s?
  • Latin America telenovelas.
  • Comparing conservatives and liberals after revolutionary Latin America.
  • A closer look at the Cuban embargo.
  • What factors led to the Mexican revolution.

Latin American Research Topics: Puerto Rico

  • The importance of Puerto Rico during the 18 th -century slave labor and trade.
  • Analyzing the controversy of Puerto Rico’s statehood.
  • Analyzing the industrialization of Puerto Rico.
  • Comparing the Puerto Rican and Brazilian cultures.

Controversial Topics in Latin America

  • The growing Chinese influence in Latin America.
  • Analyzing the discovery of America via Latin America.
  • The struggle for national identity in South America.
  • History of Latin America: Taking a closer look at the rights of Portugal over Latin America.
  • Mexican Peso crisis of the 1990s: Was Bill Clinton’s decision for bailout justified?
  • Analyzing the US-Cuban relationship during the Cold War.
  • Guatemala history: Evaluating the fall of President Arbenz and the possible involvement of the US government.
  • Drug trade in South America: What are the historical roots?

latin american literature essay topics

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Latin American Research Review (LARR)

Latin American Research Review (LARR)

The Latin American Research Review (LARR) is the flagship journal of the Latin American Studies Association, in continuous publication since 1965. LARR publishes original research and review essays on Latin America, the Caribbean, and Latina/Latino studies. The journal covers the social sciences and the humanities, including the fields of anthropology, cultural studies, economics, history, literature, political science, and sociology. Now published by Cambridge University Press, LARR has been open access and online-only since 2017 (vol. 52). Issues from 2017 to the present are available without subscription at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/latin-american-research-review . Back content for this journal can be found on JSTOR (vols. 1–53) and Project Muse (vols. 38–51). LASA members can access volumes 1–51 on the LASA website .

The journal reviews and publishes papers in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. All papers, except for book and documentary film review essays, are subject to double-blind peer review. New manuscripts can be submitted at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/larr . See the journal website for more information.

The Latin American Research Review (LARR), the academic journal of the Latin American Studies Association, has been in continuous publication since 1965. LARR publishes original research and review essays on Latin America, the Caribbean, and Latina/Latino studies. It covers the social sciences and the humanities, including the fields of anthropology, economics, history, literature and cultural studies, political science, and sociology. The journal reviews and publishes papers in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. All papers, except for book and documentary film review essays, are subject to double-blind peer review.

We are pleased to announce that the  Latin American Research Review  will be published by Cambridge University Press beginning in 2022. New content will continue to appear until the end of 2021 at  larrlasa.org , where the journal has been published since 2017. Beginning September 15, 2021, new manuscript submissions will be redirected to  LARR’s   new submission site .

Since 2017,  LARR  has been published in open access and online-only format. No subscription is needed to access content published after 2017. Back content from 1965 to 2012 can be found on  JSTOR . Content from 2003 to 2016 is available at  Project Muse . Back content through 2016 is available on the  LASA website  to LASA members.

Latin American Essay: Literary Constructions of Cultural Identity

  • Freddy Chachagua The College of The Bahamas

Author Biography

Freddy chachagua, the college of the bahamas.

Ainsa, F. (1986). ldentidad cultural de Iberoamerica en su narrativa. Gredos.

Anderson Imbert, E. (1965). Historia de la literatura hispanoamericana, Vol. 1. (5th ed.). Fonda de Cultura Economica.

Arguedas, J. M. (1990). No soy un aculturado. In E.-M. Fell (Ed.), El zorrode arriba y el zorro de abajo (pp. 256-58). Tave.

Aullón de Haro, Pedro. (1987). EI ensayo filosofico actual. In Pedro Aullón de Haro (Ed.), Los generos ensayisticos en el siglo XX (pp. 94-111). Taurus.

Chachagua, F. (1998). Jose Marti. In T. Chevalier (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the essay (pp. 535-37). FitzRoy Dearborn.

Chanady, A. B. (1994). Latin American imagined communities and the postmodern challenge. In A. B. Chanady (Ed.), Latin American identity and constructions of difference (pp. ix-xvi). University of Minnesota Press.

De Grandis, R. (1997). Incursiones en torno a hibridacion: Una propuesta para discusion De la mediacion linguistica de Bajtin a la mediacion simbolica de Garcia Canclini. Revista de Crítica Literaria Latinoamericana, 23(46), 37-51. https://doi.org/10.2307/4530925

Eley, G. (1994). Nations, publics, and political cultures: Placing Habermas in the nineteenth century. In N. B. Dirks, G. Eley & S. B. Ortner (Eds.), Culture/power/history (pp. 297-335). Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691228006-013

Garcia Canclini, N. (1990) Culturas hibridas: Estrategias para entrar y salir de la modernidad. Grijalbo.

Garcia- Pinto, M. (1986). La identidad cultural de la vanguardia en Latinoamérica. In S. Yurkievich (Ed.), Identidad cultural de Iberoamérica en su literatura (pp. 102-110). Alhambra.

Gates, H. L. (1987). Authority, (white) power and the (black) critic; It's all Greek to me. Cultural Critique, (7), 19-46. https://doi.org/10.2307/1354149

Lagmanovich, D. (1984). Hacia una teoría del ensayo hispanoamericano. In I. Levy & J. Loveluck (Eds.), Simposio El ensayo Hispanoamericano, enero 29-31, 1981, University of South Carolina (pp. 13-28).

Martí Jose. (1973). Nuestra America. (2nd ed.). Ariel.

Mead Jr., Robert G. (1956). Breve historia del ensayo hispanoamericano. Ediciones de Andrea.

Sacoto, Antonio. (1981). El indio en el ensayo de fa America espanola. Casa de la cultura.

Sarmiento, Domingo Faustino. (1991). Facundo: Civilización y barbarie (8th ed.). Porrua.

Vega, I. G. (1945). Comentarios reales de los Incas. Emece.

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  • Latin American Studies

History & Literature’s field of Latin American Studies gives students the opportunity to study the history and literature of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Brazil and the Southern Cone in a global context. Students explore topics such as indigenous cultures, conquest and colonization, global latinidad , migration, diaspora, colonial institutions, literary documents such as crónicas and poetry, independence movements, novels and poetry of the period of national self-definition, and the role of these cultures in the history and literature of the twentieth century.

In addition to the requirements for all concentrators (5 tutorials and 1 course that satisfies the language requirement), students in the Latin American Studies field complete the following requirements:

  • 1 survey course on Latin America (the course should cover at least 100 years);
  • 2 courses (1 history and 1 literature) on empire, diaspora, or transnational or comparative topics;
  • 1 course focused on a period before 1900;
  • 4 elective courses in Latin American Studies, balanced between history and literature.

Browse our list of Courses That Count for Latin American Studies , and use the  Latin American Studies Field Worksheet  to plot your course of study. 

Students interested in studying Latinx topics may do so in the Latin American Studies field or in Ethnic Studies or American Studies. Please be in touch with the Assistant Directors of Studies.

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Minnie Jang '18

Minnie Jang

Field Worksheet: Latin American Studies: Global Health Sophomore essay topic: The U.S. public health campaign during the Panama Canal’s construction Junior essay topic: The Bolivian film Yawar Malku and the Peace Corps in 1960s Bolivia Senior thesis title: Tracing Trauma: Discourses and Narratives of Experience in Post-Conflict Peru

Talia Rothstein '17

Talia Rothstein

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COMMENTS

  1. Latin American literature

    A substantial number of these oral narratives were preserved, thanks to the efforts of friars, priests, and chroniclers as well as native historians who learned to read and write, and the narratives' themes, characters, topics, and even metaphors have been periodically adopted by Latin American literature. In the latter half of the 20th ...

  2. "Modern" Techniques in Latin American Literature Essay

    Therefore, the problem with avant-garde Latin American literature, and this history in particular, is that a lot of the details needed for a postmodern genre can be misunderstood by the reader. ... The IvyPanda's free database of academic samples contains thousands of essays on any topic. Use them for inspiration, insights into a specific topic ...

  3. Free Latin America Essay Examples & Topics

    Free Latin America Essay Examples & Topics. Latin America is a group of countries from the South American continent. It includes Mexico, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean, where they speak the Romance language. Latin America presents a mixture of many cultures. African, Indigenous, and European cultures had the most impact on it ...

  4. PDF LIT 223: Contemporary Latin American Literature

    2. Recognize and discuss major themes of Latin American literature; and identify major tropes used by representative authors. 3. Identify the major periods of Latin American literary history—from the precolonial to the postmodern to the transnational—and discuss the role of the author in shaping various historic moments. 4.

  5. Latin American Literature and Culture, 1492-Present

    The essays explore: literature, music, and art from c. 1820 to 1870 and from 1870 to c. 1920; Latin American fiction from the regionalist novel between the Wars to the post-War New Novel, from the 'Boom' to the 'Post-Boom'; twentieth-century Latin American poetry; indigenous literatures and culture in the twentieth century; twentieth-century ...

  6. Latin American literature

    Latin American literature - Modern Essay, Magic Realism, Postcolonialism: All of this literary production was accompanied by a strong essayistic tradition whose main topic was the distinctiveness of Latin American culture and, within that culture, the individual cultures of the various countries. Many of the poets and fiction writers mentioned before also wrote essays in this vein: Carpentier ...

  7. Latin American authors reshaping world literature, Stanford literary

    Hoyos' research on post-1989 Latin American literature "aims not to make Latin American criticism fall in step with world literature, but rather to model world literature after Latin American ...

  8. Latin American Literature Today

    Latin American Literature Today is a journal that seeks to reflect new realities of Spanish-language literature through a quarterly online publication. ... This is an essay that shows extraordinary balance between the confessional, intellectual inquiry, the clinical aspect, and literary reference points. It likewise represents a minor epic on ...

  9. Latin American Literature

    Essays and criticism on Latin American Literature - The Writer And Society ... cannot be underestimated in the increase in Latin American essays, from the 1930s on, relating to the quest for ...

  10. A Companion to Latin American Literature and Culture

    In the newly revised second edition of A Companion to Latin American Literature and Culture, Sara Castro-Klaren delivers an eclectic and revealing set of discussions on Latin American culture and literature by scholars at the cutting edge of their respective fields. The included essays—whether they're written from the perspective of ….

  11. Latin American Literature Historical And Critical Perspectives

    SOURCE: "Books in Flames: A View of Latin American Literature," in The Antioch Review, Vol. 36, No. 2, Spring, 1978, pp. 141-53. [Cheuse is an American novelist and critic.In the following essay ...

  12. Latin American Literature

    Latin American literature, as the name suggests, is the literature of Latin America, which extends from Mexico and the Caribbean Islands all the way south to the tip of Chile. Seeing as this is a ...

  13. Latin American Literature Poetry

    Essays and criticism on Latin American Literature - Poetry ... In the following essay, he discusses the relationship between poetry and society in Latin America. ... 1995, 2 Aug. 2024 <https://www ...

  14. Exploring Broad Topics in Latina/o, Caribbean, & Latin American Studies

    Exploring broad topics in recent Latin American Studies scholarship is a good way to start thinking about potential topics for your essay, research paper, or project. As you explore some of the broad topics in recent scholarship, consider: ... Literature, Art, & Film . Music, Dance, & Performance.

  15. Latin American literature

    Gabriel García Márquez, one of the most renowned Latin American writers. Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and the indigenous languages of Latin America.It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the international success of ...

  16. Latin American and Caribbean Information Center

    With over 100 authors from conquest to the present. Biographies, literary criticism. Excellent introductory essay of Latin American literature with chronology. REF PQ7081A1 L37 1989 Modern Latin American literature / 2 vols. Compilation of international critical commentary on 137 twentieth-century writers. Serves as an excellent selective ...

  17. Latin American Research Paper Topics

    Here are the best 120 Latin American research topics that you can consider. Mixed Latin American Research Paper Topics. A closer look at the history of the church and human rights in Latin America. An in-depth analysis of Latin American feminist theology. Exploring the women's rights in Latin America: A case study of Peru and Colombia.

  18. Latin American Literature Criticism

    Historical And Critical Perspectives. Books in Flames: A View of Latin American Literature. Unity and Diversity. John S. Brushwood. Fiction from Latin America. The Short Story. Theatre and Crisis ...

  19. Latin American Research Review (LARR)

    The Latin American Research Review (LARR) is the flagship journal of the Latin American Studies Association, in continuous publication since 1965. LARR publishes original research and review essays on Latin America, the Caribbean, and Latina/Latino studies. The journal covers the social sciences and the humanities, including the fields of anthropology, cultural studies, economics, history ...

  20. Latin American Essay: Literary Constructions of Cultural Identity

    This article provides a careful look at three essays that deal directly with the relationship between cultural identity and the specificity of the Latin American essay, reviewing and questioning the prevailing understanding of the Latin American essay's origin. This leads to a comprehensive contextualization of works by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and José Martí ...

  21. Latin American Literature Criticism: The Short Story

    Last Updated August 6, 2024. Kenneth Fleak. SOURCE: "Latin American Short Fiction," in Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 20, No. 4, Fall, 1983, pp. 297-306. [In the following essay, Fleak provides an ...

  22. Latin American Studies

    History & Literature's field of Latin American Studies gives students the opportunity to study the history and literature of Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Brazil and the Southern Cone in a global context. Students explore topics such as indigenous cultures, conquest and colonization, global latinidad, migration, diaspora, colonial institutions, literary documents such as crónicas ...

  23. Latin American Literature Summary

    Essays and criticism on Latin American Literature - Summary. SOURCE: "Fiction from Latin America," in What's in a Novel, Columbia University Press, 1942, pp. 169-96. [In the following essay ...