Knowledge as Navigation of Power

Sor Juana was acutely aware that knowledge—theological, philosophical, scientific—could be weaponized or defended against depending on who possessed it and how it was framed. She studied extensively to argue her right to study, learned rhetoric to defend her voice, acquired theological expertise to speak to bishops as an intellectual equal. She used power strategically without denying the power structures. In Confucian contexts, knowledge traditionally justifies and perpetuates role hierarchies: only properly educated men became officials; women's learning was suspect. Yet education also offered subtler influence and protection. Applied today, this concept asks: How does your role's knowledge serve or constrain you? Can you master the discourse of your position to create agency within it? This moves beyond victim/rebel binaries to pragmatic navigation of real constraints.