Dr. Elena Peña Argüeso

Biography

Elena Peña Argüeso is an instructor at the University of Illinois specializing in Spanish and Portuguese. Her academic journey began with a Bachelor's degree in English Studies from the University of Sevilla, Spain, in 2012, followed by multiple Master's degrees, including in Spanish and Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Sevilla. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Spanish at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, expected to be completed in 2025. Argüeso's research interests center on imperial cross-cultural perceptions and representations in Renaissance and Baroque literature, particularly focusing on theater and news pamphlets known as relaciones de sucesos. She explores how literary texts reflect and shape the dynamics of cultural and religious exchange between Catholic Spain and the Protestant world during the Early Modern period. This period was marked by unprecedented global connectedness, as various groups, including Africans, Asians, Americans, and Europeans, engaged in transoceanic journeys. Her selected publication includes a study on the life of San Pedro Nolasco by Lope de Vega, examining models of sanctity through generic hybridization.

Research Interests

Courses