Elvira L Vilches

Elvira L Vilches is an Associate Professor of Romance Studies at Duke University, specializing in early modern Spanish and Colonial Latin American cultural history and literature. Her research bridges economics, science, and culture, particularly analyzing how mercantile practices and print culture shaped early Iberian capitalism and moral-political norms. She holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University (1998).

Her research interests include the intersection of economic thought and cultural production, focusing on monetary systems, trust, and crisis in early modern Spain. She has examined topics such as scholastic economic thought, credit cultures, and the role of numeracy in Baroque theater. Her book *New World Gold: Monetary Disorders and Cultural Anxiety in Early Modern Spain* (2010) won the Choice List of Outstanding Books in 2011.

Recent publications (2019–2024) explore financial practices, affective economies, and the cultural dimensions of credit and currency. Vilches has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, ACLS, and Mellon Foundation, among others. She teaches courses on Cervantes, the Baroque, and Global Humanities, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to literature and history.

• Awards: Choice List of Outstanding Books (2011), Mellon Foundation Grant (2015), ACLS Fellowship (2013).
• Grants: NEH, Folger Institute, John Carter Brown Library.

Her work connects early modern financial crises to contemporary issues, using historical analysis to illuminate modern economic and cultural dynamics.