History Zoom: Women of the Spanish Empire

Incredible Women of the Spanish Empire
Four Zoom Sessions
Tue., Feb. 18, 25, Mar. 4, 11, 2025, 6:30-8:30 pm MT

Despite the fact that they lived in a repressive patriarchal society, women across the Spanish empire still found creative ways to navigate the world and mold meaningful lives. While the body of texts written by women in the 16th and 17th centuries is relatively small, we still have a large number of absolutely incredible first-hand testimonies of women from the period. In this course, Spanish professor Chad Leahy explores a handful of these amazing stories. He starts with the narrative of Catalina de Eraúso, who escaped the convent when she was young, fashioned her habit into men’s clothes and joined the army. Then consider María de Zayas, who forcefully criticized violence against women in a series of powerful novellas. Next, examine the autobiography of Santa Teresa de Ávila, who was not just a renowned religious reformer, mystic and doctor of the church, but was also one of the most influential and important movers and shakers of her day. And there’s Elena/o de Céspedes, who was born as a slave of mixed race and later became a surgeon. Finally, meet Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, whose autobiography defends the right of women to study and whose poetry often underscores the absurdity of the patriarchal world she lived in.

Chad Leahy is associate professor of Spanish and chair of the Department of Spanish Language, Literary & Cultural Studies at the University of Denver. His teaching and research focus on the history and cultures of late medieval and early modern Spain.