Elaine PenagosVisiting Assistant Professor

Elaine Penagos’s research utilizes art, cultural aesthetic productions, and popular culture to examine how practitioners of Afro-Cuban religions engage in the remaking of religion. She teaches classes on African heritage religions in the Caribbean and the United States. Her writing has appeared in Genealogy, Practical Matters, the Wabash Center, and the Hispanic Theological Initiative’s Open Plaza. Before joining Emory’s department of religion, Penagos received a BA in religious studies from the University of Miami, a MA in religious studies from the University of Denver, and a Ph.D. in religion from Emory University’s Graduate Division of Religion.

Education

•  PhD, Emory University, 2022
• MA, University of Denver, 2017
• BA, University of Miami, 2014

Research and Teaching

• African heritage religions
• Latinx religions in the U.S.
• Popular culture and religious aesthetics