Decolonizing the Gaze in the Study of Eighteenth-Century Spanish and Spanish American Women

This essay provides an overview of the contribution of Spanish women's studies to the understanding of the eighteenth century and foregrounds the importance of such work in de-centering and de-colonizing Enlightenment studies. It argues that the overreliance on Anglo-French narratives and the marginalization of the Spanish Enlightenment from scholarly debate both impoverish and hinder our appreciation of the many Enlightenments that the century generated. The author brings to the fore the multi-faceted experiences of eighteenth-century Spanish speaking women, while highlighting the essential work of feminist cultural historians and their work's impact on our current understanding of the eighteenth century.