The assertion that learning and intellectual inquiry do not require permission from colonial authorities, and that forbidden knowledge is often the most liberatory.
Sor Juana pursued mathematics, theology, philosophy, and science in an era when women's intellectual appetites were deemed dangerous and unseemly. Her refusal to accept the boundaries placed on what she could know embodied a fundamental decolonial principle: that the colonizer's restrictions on knowledge are tools of control, not natural law. Postcolonial identity requires the courage to pursue understanding that colonial systems labeled deviant, primitive, or irrelevant—whether indigenous cosmologies, suppressed histories, or critiques of the colonizer itself. This concept reframes intellectual curiosity as an inherent right rather than a privilege granted by authorities. It validates autodidacticism, oral traditions, and knowledge practices that colonialism marginalized, affirming that decolonization includes the freedom to know what you choose, on your own terms, without seeking external validation or forgiveness.
Peri can explain this concept, give practical examples, help you decide whether it applies to your situation, or recommend a journey if appropriate.
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