Tag Archives: catholicism

Spanish Women’s Literature and Feminism for the L2 classroom: Tsunami, Miradas feministas (2019)

Posted on February 27, 2020 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

Since I last wrote about my favorite book from 2019, I thought it made sense to move on to one of my other top reads, which was another one of the MANY books I carried home after spending most of … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, Literature, Pedagogy, Spain, Women | Tagged autobiography, books, catholicism, femininity, Feminism, L2 Literature Pedagogy, Laura Freixas, literature, Maria Sanchez, Marta Sanz, motherhood, Nuria Barrios, pedagogy, religion, rural, Sara Mesa, Spain, spanish literature, teaching | 4 Comments

Winter Break in the Southwest: Mission San Xavier del Bac

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

This year over Winter Break I decided it would be smart to spend a few weeks in warmer weather – last year’s frigid Iowa winter made for a rather tiring “Spring” semester. We decided to visit Tucson, Arizona, to spend … Continue reading →

Posted in History, US Southwest | Tagged architecture, Arizona, catholicism, colonialism, Mexico, Native Americans, San Xavier, San Xavier mission, Tucson | 2 Comments

Santa Muerte, the Alluring and Controversial Folk Saint of Death

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

While the Virgin of Guadalupe is perhaps the most iconic and ubiquitous of Mexican Catholic imagery, Santa Muerte, or Saint Death, is quickly becoming a powerful cultural force herself. Though Santa Muerte is not an officially sanctioned saint, having been … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, US Southwest | Tagged catholicism, crime, culture, death, La virgen de Guadalupe, LGBT, Mexico, narcoculture, queer, religion, santa muerte | 4 Comments

Breastfeeding in the Prado: Religious, Mythological, and Pagan Roots

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

Don’t worry! This isn’t a too-much-information personal anecdote… just some observations I made regarding the very frequent and detailed depictions of breastfeeding in the artwork gracing the Prado’s walls. Having initially visited Madrid’s Museo del Prado in 2001 for my … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Spain, Women | Tagged art, breastfeeding, catholicism, madrid, maternity, motherhood, museo del prado, Rubens, Spain, spanish art, velazquez, virgin mary | 8 Comments

La Llorona: Incorporating Latino Studies into Hispanic Literature

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

If you grew up in the southwest United States, if you can claim Hispanic heritage, or if you’ve lived in a community with a distinct Hispanic population, you are likely quite familiar with the numerous legends of “La Llorona” (The … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Feminism, Literature, Pedagogy, US Southwest, Women | Tagged art, catholicism, children, femininity, Feminism, first-wave spanish feminism, gender, gender ideology, infanticide, La llorona, La Malinche, La virgen de Guadalupe, language, Latino literature, latino studies, legends, literature, Mexico, motherhood, myth, pedagogy, Sandra Cisneros, teaching, teaching spanish, Virgin of Guadalupe | 11 Comments

Murderous Mothers and the Discourse of Infanticide

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

This post is admittedly a slightly odd compilation of images and ideas – It seems that over the past several months I’ve been researching or teaching about murderous mothers in literature, film, history, and popular culture: from the assassination of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Women | Tagged art, Aurora Rodriguez, catholicism, children, culture, domesticity, Family Planning, Feminism, gender ideology, goya, infanticide, italy, La llorona, maternity, medical history, motherhood, Rubens, spanish art, women | 3 Comments

The Perfect Wife in the 21st century: “La perfecta casada” en el siglo XXI

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Dr. Rebecca Bender

Now that February is suddenly here, the Spring 2014 semester is officially underway and I am finally organized (well, for the most part!). For me, the most exciting part about this new semester is that I’m teaching a course I … Continue reading →