Elena Cardona

Elena Cardona

Faculty - Undergraduate
Headshot of Elena Cardona
Assistant Teaching Professor of Spanish Language and Culture
Email
ecardona@soka.edu
Phone
949-269-5603

Elena Cardona earned her PhD in Hispanic Studies from the University of California, Riverside, and a MS in Literary Studies from the Central University of Venezuela. Her areas of specialization include memory and migration studies, visual semiotics, philosophy, and art-based critical pedagogies. Her research and teaching interest focused on Ibero and Latino American contemporary Cultures. In her teaching and research endeavors, seamlessly integrated her studies in Literature and Cultural Studies with subsequent training as a photographer. An award-winning essayist and poet, her publications include two books on literature and visual culture. She has given several workshops and talks on memory and migration and the intersections between research and creative processes. She is also independent curator. Dr. Cardona is currently working on a book manuscript titled Desolvidar. This book proposes a situated philosophy of memory, which is a critical and aesthetic analysis of the recent Venezuelan migratory crisis.

  • PhD Spanish - Hispanic Studies University of California, Riverside
  • Photography Diploma, Andr茅s Bello Catholic University/CiEF, Caracas, Venezuela
  • MS. Literary Studies, Central University of Venezuela
  • BA. Letters - Language and Literature, Central University of Venezuela
  • First-year of Spanish II
  • Second-year of Spanish I
  • Intermediate Conversation
  • Advanced Conversation
  • Reading & Writing
  • Advanced Grammar
  • Cultural History of Spain
  • Cultural History of Latin America
  • Film & Literature in Spanish
  • Learning Cluster
    • Latin American Diaspora & Human Rights in Miami
    • Migrant Memories: SoCal through Photography
  • Iberian, Latino/a & Latin American literature and culture
  • Memory and Migration Studies
  • Photography, Poetry, Performance
  • Archives, Transmedia and Digital Humanities
  • Art Based Pedagogies
  • Creative Writing

Books and Book Chapter

  • Cardona, Elena. "Casas de desolvido. Cronotopos diasp贸ricos en la obra de tres fot贸grafas venezolanas." In Mujer, voz y representaci贸n en fotograf铆a y materiales visuales en el mundo hispanohablante, 165-199. Edited by Edurne Beltr谩n de Heredia. Argus-a, 2025.
  • Rosario Acosta L贸pez, Maria del, and Elena Cardona. Inauditas: Tracing the Sound of Migrant Memories in Venezuelan Women Photographers. 2023.
  • Cardona, Elena, Judit R. Palencia Guti茅rrez, Gwendolen Pare, and Isabella Vergara. "Performance in the wake | Cuerpas ante lo pol铆tico. An introduction." Edited by Elena Cardona, Judit R. Palencia Guti茅rrez, Gwendolen Pare, and Isabella Vergara. Liminalities, 2022.
  • Cardona, Elena. Entremiradas : Visualidad E Imaginario Cinematogr谩Fico En La Narrativa Venezolana de La Modernidad. Caracas: Academia Venezolana de la Lengua, 2009.
  • Cardona, Elena. Dramaturgias Del Mal : Conrad Y Coppola. Caracas: Fundaci贸n Cinemateca Nacional, 2007. (Full-text available through ILL) 

Articles

  • . https://doi.org/10.29035/ pyr.26.36
  • Cardona, Elena; Palencia Guti茅rrez, Judit R; Pare, Gwendolen; and Vergara, Isabella. Performance in the Wake. Cuerpas ante lo pol铆tico. An introduction. Liminalities. A journal of performance studies. Volume 18 Issue 3. (2022) (co-author)
  • Cardona, Elena (2022). Entre archivo y performance: Resistencias de la memoria. Performance in the Wake. Cuerpas ante lo pol铆tico. Liminalities. A journal of performance studies. Volume 18 Issue 3. (2022)
  • Cardona, Elena and Vargas, Vanessa. Illuminating the in-between鈥擬apping from the body. Presentaci贸n y conversaci贸n con Vanessa Vargas moderada por Elena Cardona. Performance in the Wake. Cuerpas ante lo pol铆tico. Liminalities. A journal of performance studies. Volume 18 Issue 3. (2022)
  • Cardona, Elena. . Volume 11, Number 2, 1 December 2020, pp. 153-178(26) DOI:
  • Cardona, Elena. . Akademos. Vol.12. No. 1 y 2, Caracas: 2010.
  • Cardona, Elena. La ley de la calle: 驴Cu谩l voz? 驴Cu谩l ley? Una aproximaci贸n al problema de la verdad en el discurso testimonial. Babel. A帽o XVII. N掳 46. 2005.

Creative

  • Cardona, Elena. Canto, Borde, Delirios. In Poes铆a migrante. Paula Cucurella (Edit). Doblea Editores 2025
  • Cardona, Elena. Selecci贸n de textos. Non finito. Baciyelmo. Vol 4, September-March 2023, p. 174-181.
  • Cardona, Elena. Cover and Images. Diacritics, vol. 49 no. 2, 2021, p. 172-145. Project MUSE
  • Cardona, Elena. Terredad. Revista Casapa铆s. La primera noci贸n del exilio. December 2-2021.
  • Cardona, Elena. Paper Will Bear Anything. Even Fragmented Memories? Wall text for the exhibition Fragmented Memories by Juan Herrera. The Artist Coop. Long Beach, California. August 2024.
  • Cardona, Elena. Los amores rumorean. Wall text and poems for the photography exhibition LAR by Wendy Estrella Yannarella. Curated by Ricardo Jim茅nez. August 2023. Roberto Mata Taller de Fotograf铆a. Hacienda la Trinidad, Caracas, Venezuela.
  • Cardona, Elena. [ O de Obliteraci贸n: membrana que sutura y anida]. C19.Fanzine. #6. June 2022.
  • Cardona, Elena. .
  • Cardona, Elena. Other Topographies o deformar el paisaje. Cat谩logo Expositores IV Sal贸n de proyectos fotogr谩ficos Espacio GAF. M茅rida, Venezuela. September 30, 2016.
  • Cardona, Elena. Other Topographies o deformar el paisaje. Cat谩logo 1era Muestra Colectiva Incubadora Visual 2016. Los Galpones Art Center, Caracas, August 24, 2016.
  • Cardona, Elena. Selecci贸n de poemas. Literales. Tal Cual. June 23, 2012.
  • Cardona, Elena. Para-triangular. Las Malas Juntas. N. 25. May 24, 2012.
  • Cardona, Elena. Fuegos Reflejos (selected poems). Babel. No 56. 2010.
  • Cardona, Elena. El Se帽or Rogelio L贸pez. Tip贸grafo de oficio. Puntal. X, N掳 14. September 2004.
  • Assistant Teaching Professor of Spanish Language and Culture, 黑料社区 of America
  • 黑料社区ing Assistant Professor of Language and Culture program, 黑料社区 of America
  • Teaching Assistant, Hispanic Studies Department, University of California, Riverside
  • Academic Coordinator, Photography Studies and Research Center, Caracas-Venezuela
  • Writing coordinator, School of Letters, College of Humanities, Central University of Venezuela
  • Lecturer, School of Letters, College of Humanities,Central University of Venezuela
  • 2025 The Nieves Family Foundation Travel Grant 
    Luis & Linda Nieves Family Foundation 
    黑料社区 of America 
    Field-based experiential learning for the Latin American Diaspora & Human Rights in Miami, FL
  • 2024-2025 Chancellor鈥檚 Grant for Addressing Bias and Bigotry 
    University of California, Riverside
  • 2022-2023 Dissertation Year Program Award 
    Graduate Division - University of California Riverside
  • 2022 Hispanic Studies Summer Research Grant 
    Project: (un)Oblivion. Interviews and Testimonies of Venezuelan Migrant Women Artists
  • 2022 Ibero-American Institute Estancia de Investigaci贸n Berlin Award
  • 2021-22 UCHRI's Engaging Humanities Grant 
    University of California Humanities Research Institute