Interdisciplinary Knowledge as Intersectional Method

Sor Juana moved fluidly across theology, philosophy, poetry, mathematics, and science—not from scattered curiosity but from recognizing that understanding any system requires knowledge from many fields. Interdisciplinary thinking is inherently intersectional because oppression itself is interdisciplinary: gender oppression operates through biology, law, theology, and culture simultaneously. In intersectional practice, bringing together knowledge from psychology, history, policy, arts, and lived experience reveals connections invisible within single disciplines. This method allows practitioners to see how a legal framework reinforces a psychological pattern that's normalized through cultural narratives. Sor Juana's example shows that the freedom to be a complete intellectual—to know many things—is itself an intersectional demand, often denied to those whose identities are treated as narrowly defined.