The making of a curandera historian: Aurora Levins Morales

In her essay, The Historian as Curandera, Aurora Levins Morales delineates her own historical methodology in order to compensate for the historical erasures of more traditional historical methodologies. She argues that the traumas of oppression suffered by women, people of color, and the poor in the United States are further perpetuated by the invisibility of their experience in historical narratives. A historical narrative that is inclusive of their experiences can heal the traumas of oppression for the oppressed. In this article, I trace Levins Morales medicinal historical methodology throughout her literary works, beginning with her contribution to the seminal work, This Bridge Called My Back. I explain her medicinal methodology and analyze the ways in which she documents and narrates the history of Puerto Rican women in prose, poetry, and essays.