MEMS Graduate Student Talk: Oren Okhovat will speak on
“Trapping Sor Juana: Sor Juana in the Contemporary Imagination”
Pugh Hall 302 at 3:00PM on Friday, April 14th
This is a survey of how the image and writings of Sor Juana have been appropriated out of its seventeenth century context for modern contemporary issues. It is based on some observations made by Octavio Paz but moves away from him to critique how Sor Juana can be interpreted in several different ways. We only have fragmented records on her life, making it difficult to present her within a seventeenth century context; as Paz tries to do. The story of Sor Juana then becomes one of questioning why only some sources are chosen to be preserved over others and its implications on historical interpretations.