Weidensall Hall
Room 211
300 North Washington St.
Gettysburg, PA 17325-1400
Education
PhD The Johns Hopkins University, 1988
MA The Johns Hopkins University, 1984
BA Seton Hall University, 1981
Academic Focus
Spanish History, Early Modern Europe
Professor Sánchez’s research centers on sixteenth and seventeenth-century Spanish history, focusing on the women of the “House of Austria,” as the Habsburg family was known in Spain. Her book, The Empress, the Queen, and the Nun (JHU Press, 1998), looks at three Habsburg women at the Spanish court during the reign of Philip III (1598-1621) and explores the informal ways that women could influence politics.
Her current research is on the Spanish king Philip II’s younger daughter, Catalina Micaela (1567-97), who married the duke of Savoy and lived in Turin from 1585 until her death. Her biographical study of Catalina, drawing heavily on a correspondence comprising some 3000 letters between her and husband, is under contract with Yale University Press.
Courses Taught
Course focuses on cultural and economic interactions between Europe, Asia, the Muslim World, and the Americas, and places great 'discoveries' of Western history--the new World, conquests, the 'rebirth' of antiquity, and the beginnings of modern science-within their context of cross-cultural exchange. Students consider literary, scientific, and religious influences on individual encounters, as well as historians' explanations for long-term global realignments during a dynamic period in world history. Offered annually.
Examination of the social, cultural, and political history of Spain and the New World from 1450 to 1700. Special attention is given to the effects which the discovery of the New World had on Spain and Latin America and the manner in which Spain imparted its institutions, culture, and beliefs to the peoples it conquered. Offered as staffing permits.
In the words of Cardinal Ximenez, character in the Monty Python sitcom: “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Our chief weapon is surprise and fear...and ruthless efficiency.” How accurate is the popular conception of the Spanish Inquisition? Was it an instrument of sadistic torture and cruelty? In this course we will examine the history of the Spanish Inquisition, considering the myths and legends which have circulated about the “Holy Office.” We will set the Spanish Inquisition in the context of late medieval and early modern European history, briefly considering other inquisitions, in order to understand its origins, development, and operation.
Survey of the history of women since 1500, with particular attention on women's participation in the political, economic, cultural, and familial realms. Focus is primarily on European women, with occasional comparisons to the United States. Offered as staffing permits.
Course introduces majors to the techniques of historical investigation, considers the nature of history, and examines the relation of history to other fields of study. Prerequisite: Two courses in history. Offered annually.
Survey of the period from the breakdown of Roman institutions in the West to the coming of the Black Death in 1347. Special emphasis is given to political, cultural, and social developments, including such topics as the Germanic invasions, the reign of Charlemagne, the struggle between secular rulers and the papacy, the Crusades, and the twelfth-century renaissance. Offered every other year.
Study of the gradual transition from the medieval to the early modern world, from ca. 1350 to the end of the sixteenth century. Course covers the cultural, political, economic, and religious changes and discusses such seminal figures as Petrarch, Machiavelli, Luther, Calvin, and Loyola. Offered every other year.
Course begins with the sixteenth-century wars of religion and continues with a study of the Habsburgs' attempts to dominate Europe, the emergence of France to predominance, and the development of the absolute state. The cultural and social impact of those political changes form a central part of the class. Offered every other year.
Course will examine the history of letter-writing, concentrating particularly on the early modern period. We will look at the development of letter writing from the medieval to the Renaissance period, considering such famous letters as those of Petrarch (1404-1374) and those of the Paston family (1422 -1509). We will examine the conventions that correspondents used as well as their goals in writing, considering also the material aspects of letters, epistolary culture, and gender. Offered every other year.