COOK FAMILY WRITING PROGRAM

Peter Civetta

Lecturer, The Cook Family Writing Program; Director, Office of Undergraduate Research; Assistant Professor of Instruction, Theater Department

• p-civetta@northwestern.edu
• 1801 Hinman, 2-227
• Rebecca Crown Center, Rm 1-226

Peter Civetta is the director of the Office of Undergraduate Research in the Office of the Provost, running programs including the Undergraduate Research Grants (URG) and the Undergraduate Research and Arts Exposition.  He advises students on grant proposals, works to foster undergraduate research across the University, and helps to develop new initiatives.  In addition to his affiliation with the Writing Program, he is also an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Theater Department, where he teaches on the intersection of performance and culture, particularly looking at the impact of religion, politics, and comedy. .

Civetta received his Bachelor’s degree in Theatre from Boston College in 1989, before working for almost ten years as a professional actor.  He received a Master’s in Theatre Studies from San Francisco State University in 2000 and a PhD in Theatre Studies from Cornell University in 2004.  His research explores the performance of religious/spiritual/moral beliefs in contemporary American society, particularly focusing on the impact of preaching as cultural discourse.  In Evanston, Peter runs the non-profit Extraordinarily Sophisticated Imagination Club, a theatre program where children improvise and create their own original plays.