Periagoge
Concept
1 min read

The Intellectual Woman's Right to Name

The claim that women have the inherent right to define themselves through intellectual pursuit and refuse imposed identities, grounded in Sor Juana's defense of her own scholarly work.

Juana
Why It Matters

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz fought fiercely for her right to study, write, and be recognized as an intellectual despite social pressures to conform to narrow feminine roles. This concept explores how naming oneself as a scholar, artist, or thinker is an act of justice and self-determination. Across cultures, marginalized groups have been denied the authority to name their own identities and contributions. Sor Juana's legacy teaches that claiming intellectual identity is not vanity but resistance—it asserts that one's mind and voice belong to oneself first. This applies today to anyone whose identity has been predetermined by others, showing that self-naming through knowledge and expression is a fundamental right that transcends cultural boundaries.

Helpful guides
Juana
Identity & Justice
Peri
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