| Colonial Angels: Narratives of Gender and Spirituality in Mexico, 1580-1750 Contributor(s): Sampson Vera Tudela, Elisa (Author) |
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ISBN: 0292777485 ISBN-13: 9780292777484 Publisher: University of Texas Press OUR PRICE: $24.75 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2000 Annotation: "This is a fascinating, well-written, and suggestive account of the intersections of gender and genre in writing by and about religious women in colonial Mexico.... Sampson's overview of these women's narratives provides a wealth of information about the personal lives and thoughts of a doubly silenced group: cloistered religious women." -- Catherine Jaffe, Associate Professor of Spanish, Southwest Texas State University Spain's attempt to establish a "New Spain" in Mexico never fully succeeded, for Spanish institutions and cultural practices inevitably mutated as they came in contact with indigenous American outlooks and ways of life. This original, interdisciplinary book explores how writing by and about colonial religious women participated in this transformation, as it illuminates the role that gender played in imposing the Spanish empire in Mexico. The author argues that the New World context necessitated the creation of a new kind of writing. Drawing on previously unpublished writings by and about nuns in the convents of Mexico City, she investigates such topics as the relationship between hagiography and travel narratives, male visions of the feminine that emerge from the reworking of a nun's letters to her confessor into a hagiography, the discourse surrounding a convent's trial for heresy by the Inquisition, and the reports of Spanish priests who ministered to noble Indian women. This research rounds out colonial Mexican history by revealing how tensions between Spain and its colonies played out in the local, daily lives of women. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | European - Spanish & Portuguese - Literary Criticism | Caribbean & Latin American |
| Dewey: 868.08 |
| LCCN: 99020697 |
| Lexile Measure: 1680 |
| Physical Information: 0.64" H x 6.22" W x 8.97" (0.70 lbs) 222 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 16th Century - Chronological Period - 17th Century - Chronological Period - 18th Century - Cultural Region - Mexican |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Spain's attempt to establish a New Spain in Mexico never fully succeeded, for Spanish institutions and cultural practices inevitably mutated as they came in contact with indigenous American outlooks and ways of life. This original, interdisciplinary book explores how writing by and about colonial religious women participated in this transformation, as it illuminates the role that gender played in imposing the Spanish empire in Mexico. The author argues that the New World context necessitated the creation of a new kind of writing. Drawing on previously unpublished writings by and about nuns in the convents of Mexico City, she investigates such topics as the relationship between hagiography and travel narratives, male visions of the feminine that emerge from the reworking of a nun's letters to her confessor into a hagiography, the discourse surrounding a convent's trial for heresy by the Inquisition, and the reports of Spanish priests who ministered to noble Indian women. This research rounds out colonial Mexican history by revealing how tensions between Spain and its colonies played out in the local, daily lives of women. |
Contributor Bio(s): Sampson Vera Tudela, Elisa: - Elisa Sampson Vera Tudela is a Research Fellow in Hispanic Studies at King's College, Cambridge. |