Sor Juana: Beauty and Justice in the Americas

by Michelle A. Gonzalez

Overview

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a seventeenth-century Mexican nun, is one of the most compelling figures of her age. A prolific writer, a learned scholar, and the first woman theologian of the Americas, she was also a defender of the dignity and rights of women in the midst of a fiercely patriarchal culture. In this study, Michelle Gonzalez examines Sor Juana’s contributions as a foremother of many currents of contemporary theology. In particular, in joining aesthetics with the quest for truth and justice, her work and witness suggest new avenues for Hispanic, feminist, and other liberation theologies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608333875
Publisher:	Orbis
Publication date:	04/10/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	934 KB

Table of Contents

	Preface	ix
	Introduction	xi
Chapter 1	Setting the Stage	1
	Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz	3
	Liberation Theologies: Ressourcement and Theological Aesthetics	7
Chapter 2	Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz	25
	Background	27
	The Baroque in New Spain	37
	Philosophy and Theology	43
	Convent Life	47
Chapter 3	Beauty	57
	Poetry	58
	El Divino Narciso	63
	El Auto Sacramental	64
	Plot	67
	Analysis	74
	Philosophical and Theological Undercurrents	81
	Beauty as Form and Content	83
Chapter 4	The Good	92
	Sor Juana: Precursor to Liberation Theologies?	93
	Gender	95
	A Litany of Women	96
	Intellectual Women	99
	Silence and Authority	102
	Theological Anthropology	106
	Women's Right to Education	111
	Race and Ethnicity	113
Chapter 5	The True	126
	Daily Life	128
	Truth as Universal	131
	Knowledge as Contextual	135
	The Role of Theology in Her Corpus	137
	Myth, Metaphor, and Allegory	140
	Lo Americano	143
	Epistemology: Gendered or Neutered?	145
Chapter 6	The Organic Unity of Beauty and Justice	153
	The Fall of Beauty	155
	Latino/a Theology	158
	Feminist Philosophy and Theology	162
	Latin American Liberation Theology	170
	Black Theology	172
	European and Euro-American Theologies	176
	Aesthetics and Ethics	181
	Conclusion: Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: Latin American Church Mother	190
	Sor Juana: Mujer Latinoamericana	191
	Sor Juana's Contemporary Contribution	193
	Bibliography	199
	Index	213

Editorial Reviews

Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a 17th-century Mexican nun, was the first woman theologian in the Americas and perhaps even the foremother of the Latin American church. Comparing her with St. John of the Cross and Teresa de Avila, Gonzalez (theology, Loyola Marymount Univ.) sees Sor Juana as a guiding force behind contemporary Hispanic, feminist, black, and other liberation theologies. Influenced by Hermetic, Neoplatonic, and scholastic philosophies, Sor Juana achieved greatness as a literary figure, philosopher, and woman of science, not unlike Hildegard von Bingen. Gonzalez argues that all theology should reveal the intrinsic unity of beauty, goodness, and truth; she insists that the aesthetic is the most appropriate and vital form of theological expression. Sor Juana became known throughout Mexico for her poetry and drama, which she used as forms of theological reflection. Thus, her writings are a quest for truth and justice while revealing to today's reader her awareness of oppression because of gender. This fine, carefully written appreciation is a perfect companion to Pamela Kirk's Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz: Religion, Art and Feminism, which also examines Sor Juana's theological contributions.-Gary P. Gillum, Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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