Curriculum Vitae

ELIZABETH M. CRUZ PETERSEN, M.A., Ph.D.

www.elizabethcruzpetersen.com |

lpquill@gmail.com | LinkedIn: Elizabeth Cruz Petersen

 

SUMMARY

Scholar and author specializing in early modern Spanish theater, women’s studies, and interdisciplinary research combining literary history and performance studies. Published author with experience in teaching, mentorship, and international scholarship. Dedicated to exploring women's roles in history and literature through innovative academic and creative approaches.

 

EDUCATION

Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida

·       Ph.D. in Comparative Studies, 2013
Dissertation: “Building a Character: A Somaesthetic Approach to Comedias and Women of the Stage”

·       M.A. in Spanish Peninsular and Latin American Literature, 2008 (Summa cum laude)
Thesis: “La transformación de la bruja en las obras de María de Zayas”

·       B.A. in Spanish, 2006 (Summa cum laude)

University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida

·       Graduate Seminar Auditor: “Don Quijote y la teoría de la novela,” 2012

Augsburg College, Minneapolis, MN

·       Marketing, 1990-1991

·       Research and Analytical Report on IBM and Apple's Personal Computer Market: Undergraduate project utilized by the IBM Sales Branch Office in Minneapolis, MN, as a tool for the marketing team. Demonstrated early application of research skills to industry needs.

Rutgers University, New Brunswick and Newark, NJ

·       Psychology and Theater

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Florida Atlantic University

·        Adjunct Faculty (Graduate and Undergraduate Courses), 2010-2020

·        Graduate Teaching Assistant (Ph.D. and M.A.), 2006-2010

·        Summer Graduate TA and Researcher in Madrid, 2007

Reader/Mentor

·        Ph.D. Dissertation Reader: 2021-2023
Robert W. Lindner, "Phenoesthetics: A Comparative Study of Arcimboldo’s Composite Portraitures"

·        Graduate TA Mentor: 2016-2018 (Mentored three Graduate TAs)

 

HONORS AND AWARDS

·       AGE Legacy Playwright Grant Finalist (2023) - Funded for creative writing about women. 

·       Artist-in-Residence, Hjørring, Denmark (2023) - Supported research and creative writing on women in early modern Spanish theater.

·       RSA Diversity Grant (2019) - Funded travel for presenting research on women directors in early modern Spanish theater.

·       Fellow, The Center for Body, Mind, and Culture, FAU (2017 to present) - Recognized for interdisciplinary work on somaesthetics and early modern Spanish theater.

·       Provost’s Dissertation-Year Fellowship Award (2010-2011) - Fellowship program for doctoral dissertation completion.

·       Ford Foundation Diversity Ph.D. Dissertation Fellowship (Honorable Mention) (2009, 2011) - Recognized for a dissertation topic on early modern Spanish actresses.

·       Sigma Delta Pi Graduate Research Grant (2010) - Supported travel and research for research on early modern theater in Spain. 

·       Delores A. Auzenne Ph.D. Fellowship Award (2008-2010) - Supported research and seminars toward a doctorate.

·       Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowship (2007) - Awarded for travel and research in Spain on a thesis about 1600s writer Maria de Zayas. 

 

PUBLICATIONS

Books:

·       Trailblazers of the Spanish Stage: Women of the Golden Age Theater (working title). In Progress.

·       Women’s Somatic Training in Early Modern Spanish Theater. Routledge, 2016.
Reviewed in Comedia Performance, Anuario Lope de Vega Texto literatura cultura, and Bulletin of the Comediantes.

Book Chapters:

·       "Theatrical Justice: Women Navigating Abuse and Murder in 17th-Century Spain," in Revision with Editor, forthcoming in World of Conflict, Routledge, 2025. 

·       “A New Perspective on Old Ideas in González de Salas’s Nueva idea de la tragedia antigua.” Pluralizing Philosophy’s Past, New Reflections in the History of Philosophy. Eds. Amber Griffioen and Marius Backmann. Palgrave, 2023, pp. 45-61.

·       “The Guardainfante Exposes More than Legs: Adapting Tirso’s Marta the Divine for the Stage.” Staging and Stage Décor in Early Modern Theater. Ed. Bárbara Mujica. Vernon Press, 2022, pp. 109-123.

·       “Ana Caro’s Valor, agravio y mujer (Mis)Interpreted: A Look at Leonora in Ian Borden’s “Agravio.” Living the Comedia and Peculiar Lives in Early Modern Spain: Essays Celebrating Amy Williamsen. Eds. Esther Fernández and J. Yuri Porras. University Press of the South, 2020, pp. 113-23.

·       “A Look at Three Career-Oriented Women: María Álvarez, Bárbara Coronel, and Fabiana Laura.” Women Warriors in Early Modern Spain: A Tribute to Bárbara Mujica. Eds. Susan Fischer and Frederick de Armas. University of Delaware Press, 2019, pp. 105-118.

·       “A Mindful Audience: Embodied Spectatorship in Early Modern Madrid.” Cognitive Approaches to Early Modern Spanish Literature. Eds. Julien Simon and Isabel Jaén Portillo. Oxford UP, 2016, pp. 111-27.

Journal Articles:

·       “Swordplay Uncloaked: Women as Active Agents in Ana Caro’s Valor, agravio, y mujer and Lope de Vega’s La pobreza estimada.” Comedia Performance, 2019, pp. 86-102.

·       “Reinventing Herself: María Álvarez’s Legacy as Actor, Director, Mentor.” Comedia Performance, 2017, pp. 152-77.

·       “New Art of Bodily Care in the Works of Lope de Vega and López Pinciano.” Journal of Somaesthetics vol. 3, no. 1 & 2, 2017, pp. 129-39.

·       “El arte nuevo de traducir Lo fingido verdadero.” Comedia Performance vol. 8, no. 1, 2011, pp. 113-50.

·       “Designed For An Experience: The Natural Architecture of Corrales.” Comedia Performance vol. 7, no.1, 2010, pp. 168-97.

Creative Publications:

·       “‘The Ship that Took Us to War: Fragments of a Novel in Progress’ by Carmen Duarte.” Women Writing about War. Translated by Elizabeth Cruz Petersen. Edited by Bárbara Mujica. University of Virginia Press, 2021, pp. 233-47.

·       “A Very Sad Day.” (A Short Story) Drumvoices Revue: Words from the Cities, Part 2: Prose Voices of Contemporary Urban Cultures, vol. 10, no. 1-2, 2001/2002, pp. 53-54. https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/sie_drum/id/2735.

Digital Publications:

·      “A Translation of ‘De los representantes’ in Nueva idea de la tragedia antigua by González de Salas.” Blog, 26 Mar 2023. www.elizabethcruzpetersen.com. - A supplement to “A New Perspective on Old Ideas in González de Salas’s Nueva idea de la tragedia antigua” (in Pluralizing Philosophy’s Past, 2023).

·      “A Dress that Stands the Test of Time.” Blog, 19 Jan 2021. www.elizabethcruzpetersen.com. - A precursor to a book chapter, “The Guardainfante Exposes More than Legs," (in Staging and Stage Décor, 2022).

Reviews:

Book:

·       “María Asunción Flórez Asensio. Sirena de los tablados. Teresa de los Robles: recorrido vital y profesional de una ‘hija de la comedia.’ Iberoamericana / Vervuert, 2023, 259 pp.” Bulletin of the Comediantes, vol. 75. No. 2, 2025, pp. 165-167.

Theater:

·       “El esclavo del Demonio. Almagro, Spain.” Comedia Performance vol. 8, no. 1, 2011, pp. 261-65.

·       “El caballero de Olmedo. Washington, D.C.” Comedia Performance vol. 8, no. 1, 2011, pp. 266-71.

 

INVITED LECTURES

·       “Moving Muses: Four Extraordinary Women,” Kirsten Kjærs Museum, Denmark, 2024 - An introduction to a sculptor and performance piece based on my manuscript about women in early modern Spanish theater.

·       “Defusing Fake News: Women in Command in Early Modern Spanish Theater,” University of Southern Denmark, 2020 – A precursor to chapters exploring socio-political impacts of women in Spanish theater.

·       “Witchcraft and Sorcery: Natural and Celestial Magic in Literature throughout the Ages,” FAU, 2020 – Based on master’s thesis and research on women and sorcery.

·       “Engendering the Stage in the Age of Shakespeare and Beyond,” McMaster University at Stratford Festival, September 2018 - A precursor to the article “Swordplay Uncloaked" (2019).

·       “Expanding the Cannon” Conference, Participant, University of Konstanz at Gais, Italy, July 2018 - Shaped research for “A New Perspective on Old Ideas" (2023).

·       “Women with Character,” Sigma Delta Pi, Chapter Rho Omicron at FAU, Boca Raton, FL, February 9, 2016 - An introduction to the book Women’s Somatic Training in Early Modern Spanish Theater (2016).

 

SELECT CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (2020 - 2023)

·       “Reckoning with a Violent Husband: Actress Catalina Hernández’s Justice,” University of Toronto, 2023.

·       “Getting Away with Murder: The Trial of Bárbara Coronel,” Sixteenth Century Society & Conference, 2022.

·       “Fabiana Laura: An Artist Straddling the Boundaries of Aristocratic Private Life and Public Theatrical Career,” AHCT Symposium, Almagro, Spain, 2022.

·       “Will the Real Lieutenant Stand Up!: Searching for Pérez de Montalbán’s Catalina in The Nun Lieutenant.” AHCT Symposium, Spain, via ZOOM, 2020.

 

LANGUAGES

  • English/Spanish: Native fluency

  • Italian: Conversational

  • French: Reading for research

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

  • Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE)

  • Association for Hispanic Classical Theater (AHCT)

  • Dramatist Guild of America

  • The Playwrights’ Center Affiliated Writer and Member