Dr. Lee M. Penyak

Dr. Lee Penyak

Lee M. Penyak, emeritus professor of history and an associate member of Latin American Studies and Women’s Studies, was born in Danbury, Connecticut and educated in the Bethel, Connecticut public school system. He received his B.A. in History from Fairfield University (1984), and M.A. and Ph.D. in Latin American history from The University of Connecticut (1985, 1993). His doctoral examination fields included colonial and modern Latin America, early-modern Europe, and the Mexican Inquisition. His dissertation examined criminality in late-colonial and early-modern Mexico, with an emphasis on sex crime. This research has led to publications on female confinement (Hispanic American Historical Review), the professionalization of obstetrics medicine (The Americas), spousal abuse (The Historian), male same-sex attraction (Colonial Latin American Historical Review), incest (Sexuality and the Unnatural in Colonial Latin America), and prohibited artwork in Mexico (Colonial Latin American Review). Additional research interests include the church and state and the hacienda complex, culminating in three edited works on these topics. For eight years he served as director of Scranton’s Latin American Studies program. Penyak served as director of study abroad at Western Michigan University from 2016-2021.

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