Elizabeth Bouteneff is from Yonkers, New York. She earned a B.A. in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Area Studies with a minor in Urban Studies from Smith College, with language study and coursework taking her to St. Petersburg and then Denmark. After graduating, she lived in South Korea for four and a half years, where she taught English and pursued intensive Korean language study. Now at the ISM, she is interested in how art and material forms make the intangible tangible, shaping how religious meaning is encountered through image, object, space, and the senses. She is particularly drawn to Eastern Orthodox traditions, from icons to liturgical spaces and practices. Outside academics, Elizabeth enjoys hiking, crochet, exploring new places, and an ever-changing assortment of other interests.
