Hi ladies! Just dropping in to encourage you in your mission. I love listening and look forward to every new episode. If you’re looking for episode ideas, I would like to suggest Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a Mexican colonial nun, writer, and I would suggest  theologian. In a recent undergrad paper for a class, I wrote this about her:

However, centuries later, conflicted views between scholars seek to trap this nun who broke the assumptions of her era into labels, diminishing one aspect to enhance another. For example, in her most famous biography, Octavio Paz says of her theology, “It is not easy to take her theological opinions very seriously; rather than deep convictions, they were brilliant speculations to be uttered in a lecture hall, in the locutory of a convent, or on the stage of a theater” (343).  Others determine her religious writing the result of ecclesiastical pressure, while finding her romantic poetry written to her patroness and protector, the Countess Paredes, not the result of political or financial pressures but rather the expression of lesbian love hidden within the nun’s heart (as in the film, Yo la peor de todos). 

I want to put forward a new idea: that Sor Juana was not a one-dimensional historical heroine in the face of oppression, but rather was an actual person with multiple dimensions. She expressed beautiful Sapphic sexuality in some poetry, and maintained a true and genuine Catholic faith within the wall of her convent. Not only did she craft literary art, but she also constructed a deeply aesthetic theology with resonance to the theological conflicts of her day.  She lived under the pressure of a hierarchical and patriarchal structure, yet produced works “with an exuberance which is characteristic of a vibrant faith able to survive under trying circumstances” (Kirk, Religion, Art, and Feminism 11). None of these aspects contradict another, and by diminishing certain aspects of Sor Juana’s life in order to highlight others, scholars run the risk of sending damaging messages: you cannot be chaste and latina, you cannot be lesbian and a faithful Catholic; you cannot be both intellectual and theological (and certainly not a female on top of that); you cannot be a complex human and a woman. 

Sorry, I know that’s long, but it expresses exactly why I find this woman so extremely fascinating and worth in depth study. 🙂 If you want specific article suggestions, I might be able to send some your way. 

Thanks for all you do ladies!

–Elizabeth

E Erazo Thanks for that suggestion, Elizabeth! We’re filling up our Fall slate right now and will definitely keep her in mind.