Baroque Intellectuals: Sor Juana Ines De La Cruz and Siguenza Y Gongora

3 units

The multifaceted intellectual and literary production of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora dominates the cultural landscape of seventeenth -century colonial Mexico. In this class we will examine representative works from both of these authors, addressing a wide variety of genres - history, theology, poetry, theater, scientific writing, autobiography and biography - to plot the contours of elite baroque culture. In bringing these two authors together in one class we will be able to examine in detail the preoccupations of these baroque intellectuals - their inferior status as criollos (Mexicans of pure Spanish descent), the challenges involved in disseminating their works, as well as the difficulties imposed by an absolutist state and orthodox religious power structure. We will also focus on the differences in their works and lives that sprang from their respective genders, taking a close look at the production of femininity and masculinity in colonial Mexico. This class will also strive to create a detailed socio-cultural and historical context in which to place the works of these two figures. Primary texts will include Paraíso occidental, Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz, Autodefensa espiritual, Infortunios de Alonso Ramírez, Teatro de virtudes políticas, Neptuno alegórico, Libra astronómica, Carta Atenagórica, as well as a selection of Sor Juana's poetry and villancicos. Secondary sources will include works by Foucault, Paz, Moraña, Merrim, More, Glantz and Ross. Graduate standing. In Spanish.