Anna Maria van Schurman and Women's Education, with Anne Larsen and Steve Maiullo of Hope College (Ad Navseam, Episode 142)

Ad Navseam

This week the guys are joined in the Bunker (via Zoom) by scholars Anne Larsen (emerita, French, Hope College) and Stephen Maiullo (Classics, Hope College) for a fascinating discussion of the “Minerva of Utrecht” and "Tenth Muse", Anna Maria van Schurman (1607-1678). Van Schurman was not only an accomplished painter, engraver, and calligraphist, she was also a phenomenally gifted linguist and classical scholar at a time when such was virtually unheard of among women. Tune in to hear about the challenges in translating the Latin of her books and letters into English (for the first time!), and of van Schurman’s extraordinary life in which she went head-to-head with the scholars of her day, made a name for herself in the “Republic of Letters”, and laid out a groundbreaking case for the education of women.