LALS 320 - Seminar in the History of Philosophy

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

Topic for 2021/22b: The Baroque Philosophy of Sor Juana & Friends: Enlightenment and the Early Modern Period in Latin America. (Same as PHIL 320) Some historians have remarked that Latin America skipped the Enlightenment. The works of polymath, polyglot, and “Tenth Muse” Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695) and her contemporaries during the Spanish Colonial period tell a different story. We examine a broad selection of Sor Juana’s writing in prose, poetry, and dramatic dialogue, including her masterpiece, First Dream, in light of their influences in contemporary and historical European and pre-Columbian Mesoamerican thought. Was Sor Juana a traditionalist Aristotelian or a hip empiricist – or was she neither? Is she indebted to pre-Columbian thought, or is all her writing neo-European? We also discuss her defense of women’s rights to education, her thoughts about the rights of Indigenous peoples and her Creole identity, her rumored relationships with women and views on love, the issue of her ‘conversion’ near the end of her life and her thoughts about God and the Church, her theories on artistic depiction and artistic creation, and also the views she may have had on the major scientific issues of her day from optics to the stars. Students with Spanish language expertise are provided with Spanish language resources. Students are encouraged to do independent research into primary and secondary sources and produce original writing in conversation with these sources. Sofia Ortiz-Hinojosa.

Prerequisite(s): At least one course in Philosophy, preferably PHIL 102, PHIL 262, or PHIL 320. Certain 200- or 300-level literature courses in HISP or LALS may also be acceptable.

One 3-hour period.

Course Format: CLS