Ross Lerner

Ross Lerner is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at Occidental College, specializing in medieval and Renaissance British literature, particularly poetry, and exploring intersections with religion, race, law, and gender. He serves as Department Chair and has been affiliated with Occidental since 2015.

• Education:
  • B.A., Haverford College
  • M.A., Princeton University
  • Ph.D., Princeton University

His research traces the legal, religious, and literary history of punishment and race in the premodern Atlantic, including the concept of "civil death" (loss of civil rights for incarcerated/exiled individuals). He connects medieval legal theories to modern felony disenfranchisement.

Ross Lerner’s publications include a 2019 monograph Unknowing Fanaticism: Reformation Literatures of Self-Annihilation and peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Marvell Studies, Exemplaria, and ELH. His work spans topics like Renaissance poetry’s relationship to law, religion, race, and gender, with a focus on allegory, racialization, and poetic experimentation.

• Scientific Awards:
  • Occidental's Linda and Tod White Teaching Prize

Ross Lerner emphasizes reciprocal teaching-research dynamics, often deriving scholarly projects from student inquiries. He taught at Princeton University, Haverford College, and New Jersey prisons before joining Occidental. Outside academia, he enjoys cycling and hiking in Los Angeles.