History Prof. Magdalena Sánchez teaches early modern history at Gettysburg College. As the first woman to be tenured in the History Department — and, with her colleague History Prof. Emerita Barbara Sommer, the first woman to be promoted to full professor of history — Sánchez teaches courses stretching chronologically from medieval Europe to the French Revolution.
Her area of specialty is early modern Spain, and she teaches a course both on that subject and another on the Spanish Inquisition. She also regularly teaches a 100-level course on the Age of Discovery and a senior seminar, Letters and Letter-writing.
Sánchez received her bachelor’s degree in history and art history from Seton Hall University and her doctorate in 16th- and 17th-century Spanish history from Johns Hopkins University. She has conducted research in numerous European archives and published on Habsburg women, most recently on the infanta Catalina Micaela, Philip II of Spain’s younger daughter, who, at 17, married the duke of Savoy, moved to Turin, Italy, and bore 10 children.
Magdalena’s book, “Infanta: The Short, Remarkable Life of Catalina Micaela” (Yale University Press, 2025), is based on the extensive correspondence between Catalina and her husband, who left her in charge while he was away on military campaigns.
“What drew me to Gettysburg was the ability to work closely with motivated undergraduates and be able to see their progress over their four years,” she said. “I enjoy having students who take one class with me and then return for others. I get to know them academically but also personally, especially because, at such a small college, you regularly see your students outside of class, as you cross campus or, in my case, when they’re hanging out in Weidensall Hall, home of the History Department.”
Photo by Shannon Palmer
Posted: 05/12/26