Naming and Colonial Counter-Knowledge

Sor Juana strategically reinterpreted religious and philosophical concepts to expand their meaning and challenge orthodox authority, demonstrating how naming practices reflect power relations. In colonial and postcolonial contexts, dominant groups control how people are named and categorized—practices embedded in language, law, and institution. Counter-knowledge emerges when marginalized individuals rename themselves and their communities according to their own understanding and values. This might involve recovering indigenous names, creating new terminology for experiences not captured by dominant languages, or recontextualizing existing concepts. Sor Juana's approach to theological interpretation exemplified this: she claimed the right to analyze and redefine sacred texts, asserting that intellectual engagement was itself a form of identity claiming. For individuals navigating multiple cultures, strategic renaming becomes an act of epistemological justice—asserting that they possess the authority to define themselves, their communities, and their knowledge systems rather than accepting external categorizations that erase complexity and agency.