Elaine Peña

Elaine Peña is a Professor of Performing Arts, American Culture Studies, and Anthropology at Washington University. She is also a Faculty Affiliate at the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity (CRE2). Her academic roles highlight interdisciplinary expertise in performance studies, cultural anthropology, and Latinx studies.

Elaine Peña earned her PhD from Northwestern University.

Her research focuses on Border and Borderlands Studies, Hemispheric Latinx Performance, Diasporic and Material Religion, the Built Environment, and Performance Ethnography. She examines intersections of religion, borders, and performance through ethnography and cultural analysis, exploring spaces and practices made sacred and identities constructed in transnational contexts.

• Scientific Awards:
• British Academy Recognition
• National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship
• Ford Foundation Fellowship

In advising and grants, Peña has secured grants from the NEH and Ford Foundation. No specific advisees are listed in the provided text. Her work includes authoring books and editing volumes, such as Performing Piety and ¡Viva George!, as well as contributing to journals like e-misférica and American Quarterly. These publications underscore her commitment to interdisciplinary research in Latinx performance, border studies, and material religion.