YEREVAN, Armenia — The American University of Armenia (AUA) is pleased to welcome Dr. Elettra Repetto as an assistant professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS).
Dr. Repetto earned her Ph.D. in political theory with a minor in human rights at the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna, and her thesis was completed through a collaboration between CEU and Cornell University, where she was a fellow at the Telluride House.
Aside from academia, she has worked with asylum seekers and migrant organizations in Italy and Greece, and since May 2026, she has been serving on the board of Greenpeace Italy.
Before joining AUA, Dr. Repetto was a professor of human rights at the AI-Quds Bard College in East Jerusalem and taught political philosophy in the Philosophy department of Leiden University. Additionally, during her postdoctoral experience in Italy at the University of Eastern Piedmont, she worked on greenwashing and is actively focused on it as a research topic. She has collaborated as a mentor with the CEU certificate program of the Invisible University for Ukraine, in efforts to support Ukrainian undergraduate and graduate students whose studies were affected by the war.
The main focus areas she explores are global justice, migration, climate change, civil disobedience, and dissent. She aims to connect her fields of study with the course she will be teaching and discuss questions closely related to her research. Dr. Repetto’s teaching methodology is rooted in familiarizing students with tools that will support them in different aspects of learning. “My teaching philosophy is grounded in the belief that learning is getting familiar with the tools that help us better understand the world, refine our ideas, and make our voices, our points of view, and our creativity heard,” she remarked.
A challenge she encountered throughout her academic career was navigating teaching during wartime in Palestine. “Classes were often disrupted because of the rising political violence in the country. This meant switching to online teaching quite often and rethinking classes that were supposed to be taught in person,” she said. “The way I organized my work started with getting more familiar with the online tools at my disposal.”
Teaching at AUA is familiar to Dr. Repetto since she has worked at Western-style institutions, and she is excited to be part of a growing institution. She is also eager to learn about Armenian culture and experience life in the country. “The cultural and social heritage of Armenia is very interesting to me as I am really curious to learn more about Armenia and its history, and I’m also excited to witness its continued growth,” she highlighted.
Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.