Luce López-Baralt (born 1944,

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

) is a prominent Puerto Rican scholar and essayist and a professor of Spanish and

Comparative Literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

Academic career

Many of her books and articles present for discussion the mystical literature and religious practices of Spain, renaissance and medieval (including

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

), i.e., both Christian and Muslim. She acknowledges the influence of the early 20th century Spanish Arabist, the Rev. Miguel Asín Palacios, among others. In particular, she has followed traces of the trail that show a fruitful interaction between Muslims and Christians in Iberia, e.g., as it affected San Juan de la Cruz and Santa Teresa de Ávila. Evidently, this trail continues on, eventually leading also to the Argentine writer

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

. She has also done work on the literature of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Often serving as a visiting professor, she has taught in at various universities in South America, North America, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. Her works have been translated into French, English, German, Dutch, Arabic, Urdu, and Persian. In November 1998, the

held a Congress in honor of Luce López-Baralt and her sister, also an academic, Mercedes López-Baralt (anthropologist, historian, and literary critic). Professor Luce López-Baralt received her Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic Studies from the Universidad de Puerto Rico, her Masters in Romance Literature from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, and her Doctorate in Romance Literature from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. She also did post-doctorate work at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

Personal life

In 2014 she was honored by

Felipe VI Felipe VI (; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. In accordance with the Spanish Constitution, as monarch, he is head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed For ...

, who made her Commander by Number of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

, which grants her the distinction of using the honorary prefix "Her Most Illustrious Lord". The

investiture Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian kn ...

ceremony, presided by the consul-general Tomás Rodríguez-Pantoja Márquez, and was held at Casa de España on October 31.

Selected publications

Books

*'' San Juan de la Cruz y el Islam. Estudio sobre la filiaciones semíticas de su literatura mística'' (México: Colegio de México 1985), second edition (Madrid: Hiperión 1990). *''Huellas del Islam en la literatura española. De Juan Ruiz a

Juan Goytisolo Juan Goytisolo Gay (6 January 1931 – 4 June 2017) was a Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist. He lived in Marrakesh from 1997 until his death in 2017. He was considered Spain's greatest living writer at the beginning of the 21st century, yet ...

'' (Madrid: Hiperión 1985); **Translated by Andrew Hurley as: ''Islam in Spanish Literature. From the Middle Ages to the Present'' (Leiden: E.J.Brill 1992). *''Un

Kama Sutra The ''Kama Sutra'' (; , , ; ) is an ancient Indian Hindu Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism and emotional fulfillment. Attributed to Vātsyāyana, the ''Kamasutra'' is neither exclusively nor predominantly a sex manual on sex positions ...

español'' (Madrid 1992). *''Asedios a lo Indecible - San Juan de la Cruz canta al éxtasis transformante'' (Madrid: Editorial Trotta 1998).
''The Sufi trobar clus and Spanish mysticism''
''A shared symbolism'' (Lahore: Iqbal Academy Pakistan 2000), translated by Andrew Hurley; prior publication: Part II & Part III in ''Iqbal Review'' (April & October 1998); . *''El Viejo maravilloso de Buluqiya a los confines del universo'' (Madrid: Trotta 2004), narrative. *''A zaga de tu huella: La ensenanza de las lenguas semíticas en

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

en tiempos de San Juan de la Cruz'' (Madrid: Trotta 2006). Other Books: *Collection: ''Mélanges, études réunies et préfacées par Luce López-Baralt'' (Tunis: Zaghouan 2001), edited by Abdeljelil Temimi. *Collection/Collaboration: Luce López-Baralt, Mercedes López-Baralt, & William Mejias Lopez (editor), ''Moradas de la Paloma. Homenaje a Luce y Mercedes López Baralt'' (Universidad de Puerto Rico 1995), 2 volumes, 1890 pages. *Collaboration: Luce López-Baralt & Lorenzo Piera Delgado, ''El sol a medianoche. La experiencia mística. Tradición y actualidad'' (Madrid: Trotta 1995); a comparative study universal in scope. *Translation: Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Nuri de Bagdad, ''Moradas de los corazones'' 'Maqama al-qulub''(Madrid 1999); i.e., ''Stations of the Heart'', said to have been an ndirectsource of the mystical symbolism of seven concentric castles employed by St. Teresa of Avila; also see López-Baralt, ''Islam in Spanish Literature'' (1985, 1992) at 107–115, esp. 110. *Editors (with Eulogio Pacho): San Juan de la Cruz, ''Obra completa'' (Madrid: Alianza 1994), 2 volumes.

Articles

*"Introduction" to:

Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian Americans, Iranian-American academic, philosophy, philosopher, theology, theologian, and Ulama, Islamic scholar. He is University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. ...

, ''The Pilgrimage of Life and the Wisdom of

Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (), or simply Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century poet, Hanafi '' faqih'' (jurist), Maturidi theologian (''mutakallim''), and Sufi mystic born during the Khwarazmian Empire ...

'' (2007).
"Los Moriscos y el Siglo de Oro"
republished: ''Historia de Al-Andalus,'' Boletín 65 (2007); .
"El cálamo supremo (Al-qalam al-a'la) de Cide Hamete Benengeli"
republished: ''Historia de Al-Andalus,'' Boletín 58 (2006); **Translated by M. McCabe as: "The Supreme Pen (Al-Qalam Al-A'la) of '' Cide Hamete Benengeli'' in

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

" ''Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies'' 30: 508-518 (2000). *"Saint John of the Cross and Ibn 'Arabi: The Heart or Qalb as the Translucid and Ever-Changing Mirror of God" in ''Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society'', 28: 57-90 (Oxford 2000). *" Borges o la mística del silencio: Lo que había al otro lado del Zahir" in ''Jorge Luis Borges. Pensamiento y saber en el siglo XX'', edited by A. de Toro and F. de Toro (1999), at 29–70. *"Cuando España se llamaba Sefarad" in ''La Torre,'' 7: 503-527 (1993). *"Estudio introductorio" to: Miguel Asín Palacios, '' Sadilies y Alumbrados'' (Madrid: Hiperión 1990) at ix-lxvii. *"Historia de un hombre que prefirió la muerte al adulterio" in ''Revista de estudios hispánicos,'' v.12 (1985). *"Santa Teresa y el Islam: Los símbolos del vino del éxtasis, la apretura y la anchura, el jardín del alma, el árbol místico, el gusano de seda, los siete castillos concéntricos" in ''Ephemerides Carmeliticae'' XXXIII: 629-678 (1981–82). *"Simbología mística musulmana en San Juan de la Cruz y en Santa Teresa" in ''Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica'' XXX: 21-91 (1981). *"Los lenguajes infinitos de San Juan de la Cruz e Ibn 'Arabi de Murcia" in ''Actas del VI Congreso Internacional de Hispanistas'' (Toronto 1980) at 173–177. *"Huellas del Islam en San Juan de la Cruz: en torno a la 'Llama de amor viva' y la espiritualidad musulmana išraquí" in ''Vuelta'' 45: 5-11 (August 1980). *"Anonimia y posible filiación espiritual musulmana del soneto 'No me mueve mi Dios, para quererte'" in ''Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica'' XXIV: 243-266 (1975). *Collaboration: Luce López-Baralt & Marta Elena Venier, "Literatura hispano-semítica comparada" in ''Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica'' XXX (1981). *López-Baralt, Luce. (2011)
"Entre las leyes y las letras: una historia de amor"
sup>dead etween Laws and Letters: A Love Story(PDF). '' Revista Jurídica de la Universidad de Puerto Rico'' (in Spanish). 80 (2): 311-320. . *López-Baralt, Luce (2013)
"Una historia de amor"
Love Story In Rodríguez Suárez, Francisco Javier; Rodríguez Beruff, Jorge (eds.). ''Alma Mater: Memorias y Perspectivas de la Universidad Posible'' lma Mater: Memories and Perspectives of the Possible University(in Spanish). San Juan, Puerto Rico: University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture. pp. 120–124. . *López-Baralt, Luce (March 30, 2017)
"La palabra clave en la UPR: negociación"
he Keyword at the UPR: Negotiation '' El Nuevo Día'' (in Spanish). *López-Baralt, Luce (January 25, 2019)
"Discurso de aceptación del Doctorado “Honoris Causa” de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid de la Excma. Sra. Luce López-Baralt"
xcellent Mrs. Luce López-Baralt's Acceptance speech of the Doctorate "Honoris Causa" from the Complutense University of Madrid(PDF).

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

(in Spanish). *López-Baralt, Luce (June 16, 2019)
"How do I love thee?"
''El Nuevo Día'' (in Spanish). . *López Baralt, Luce (August 23, 2020)
"La educación a distancia: una educación distante"
istance Education: A Distant Education ''El Nuevo Día'' (in Spanish). .

References

External links

A Bibliography of Luce López-Baralt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez-Baralt, Luce Complutense University of Madrid alumni New York University alumni Harvard University alumni Puerto Rican academics Comparative literature academics Puerto Rican literary historians American women literary historians 21st-century Puerto Rican historians Writers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Educators from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican women educators Living people Historians of Spanish literature Commanders by Number of the Order of Isabella the Catholic 1944 births