Silvia Z. Mitchell
Please join me in congratulating Silvia Z. Mitchell, assistant professor of history, for the publication of her book Queen, Mother, and Stateswoman: Mariana of Austria and the Government of Spain (Penn State University Press, 2019).
Silvia’s new narrative of the Spanish Habsburg monarchy advances understanding of women’s legitimate political entitlement in the early modern period. The book examines Mariana’s 10-year regency (1665-1675) of the global Spanish Empire and subsequent role as queen mother. In Silvia’s revisionist account, “Mariana emerges as a towering figure at court and on the international stage, and her key collaborators—the secretaries, ministers, and diplomats who have previously been ignored or undervalued—take their rightful place in history,” according to the publisher.
Congratulations, Dr. Mitchell!
David A. Reingold
Justin S. Morrill Dean
College of Liberal Arts