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Dissertation Information for Lisa M. Sousa

NAME:
- Lisa M. Sousa

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- History

SCHOOL:
- University of California, Los Angeles (USA) (1998)

ADVISORS:
- James Lockhart

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Ruth Bloch
- Jeanette Favrot Peterson

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Women in native societies and cultures of colonial Mexico

Abstract: The dissertation is a social and cultural history of women in native communities of colonial Mexico, from the time of the Spanish conquest to approximately 1750. Using native- and Spanish-language sources, the dissertation identifies cross-cultural patterns in women's roles and status, focusing primarily on three major native groups of central and southern Mexico: the Nahua, Mixtec, Zapotec, and Mixe. The study examines cultural attitudes which shaped the expectations and dynamics between men and women and among households and communities. Five substantive chapters address the following interrelated themes: household and community relations; the construction of gender; women's work and duties; marriage; and sexuality. The work reveals overlapping gender systems and ideals that contribute to the complex and, at times, contradictory nature of native women's status. The dissertation also considers and evaluates changes and adaptations caused by contact with Spanish culture and society.

The dissertation is rooted in an analysis of philological and historical evidence drawn from four genres: ethnohistorical and ecclesiastical texts written in the Spanish, Nahuatl, Mixtec, and Zapotec languages; criminal cases from local archives; civil court records; and preconquest and early colonial pictorial manuscripts. Each genre contains different types of information which, when considered together, reveal the complexity and importance of native women's roles. Extensive research for the project was conducted in the archives of Mexico and Spain.

Because indigenous women's history has received only scant attention, previous understanding of native women's status has been fragmented and inconsistent. This dissertation makes significant contributions to establishing indigenous women's economic, legal, and social status and by pioneering investigations of native constructions of gender and sexuality using a wide variety of historical sources.

MPACT Scores for Lisa M. Sousa

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-10-09 11:19:24

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Students under Lisa M. Sousa

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None