Juliana Morell, the first university doctor in the history of Europe
The Aula Magna of the Historic Building of the University of Barcelona will host, on April 5 at 4.00 p.m., the lecture "Juliana Morell (1594-1653): el vol del pensament". This session will be coordinated by Georgina Rabassó, professor of the UB’s Faculty of Philosophy and researcher of the consolidated research group Creation and thought of women - ADHUC. It will be presented by Agustí Alcoberro, the vice-rector for Culture, Memory and Heritage, and it will gather experts on the biography and historical context of this Baroque intellectual and nun. Among the participants are Rosa Rius (Àdhuc Philosophy and Gender Seminar, UB), Julia Lewandowska (University of Warsaw) and Mercè Gras (Archives of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands).
The Aula Magna of the Historic Building of the University of Barcelona will host, on April 5 at 4.00 p.m., the lecture "Juliana Morell (1594-1653): el vol del pensament". This session will be coordinated by Georgina Rabassó, professor of the UB’s Faculty of Philosophy and researcher of the consolidated research group Creation and thought of women - ADHUC. It will be presented by Agustí Alcoberro, the vice-rector for Culture, Memory and Heritage, and it will gather experts on the biography and historical context of this Baroque intellectual and nun. Among the participants are Rosa Rius (Àdhuc Philosophy and Gender Seminar, UB), Julia Lewandowska (University of Warsaw) and Mercè Gras (Archives of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands).
The seminar will open in the morning offering two guided tours to the exhibition “El llegat retrobat de Juliana Morell (1594-1653)” at the Pedralbes Monastery, which can be visited until April 14. The exhibition results from the project “El llegat oblidat de Joana Morell”, by Professor Rabassó, funded by the Mir-Puig Private Foundation. Registration (adhuc@ub.edu) is required for those who wish to visit and attend the seminar.
Juliana Morell (1594-1653), born in Barcelona, presented her oral thesis in philosophy at her home in Lyon, where she moved with her family in 1602, when she was twelve years old. This milestone made her the first female doctor in history, although she was never able to set foot in a university. Despite being an icon of female scholarship for centuries, the life, work and thought of Juliana Morell are still unknown today. Humanist, polyglot and Dominican nun in Avignon, she was one of the prominent voices of the Counter-Reformation in France. Her thought flows between two of the main trends of the Baroque: rationalism and erotic mysticism.
Juliana Morell is one of the three women who are represented in the Paranymph Hall, along with Queen Isabel II and Santa Teresa de Jesús. The Rare Book and Manuscript CRAI Library holds five works that were part of Morell's personal library, as well as some examples of the property marks that identified her books throughout her life.