Jesús Velasco

Jesús Velasco is the Augustus R. Street Professor of Spanish & Portuguese and Comparative Literature at Yale University, serving as Chair of the Department of Spanish & Portuguese. His academic journey includes doctorates from the University of Salamanca (1995) and ongoing doctoral work in Law at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (Paris). Velasco has held tenured positions at Columbia University, UC Berkeley, and the University of Salamanca, with visiting roles at institutions like the École Normale Supérieure and Emory University.

His research focuses on Law and Culture across medieval and early modern Mediterranean contexts, emphasizing manuscript studies, book history, and Iberian cultural intersections. He has pioneered studies on marginal writing and political conflict in medieval texts, blending legal theory with literary analysis. Velasco’s work challenges traditional disciplinary boundaries, particularly through his concept of 'microliteratures' derived from manuscript marginalia.

Key publications include Dead Voice: Law, Philosophy, and Fiction in the Iberian Middle Ages (2020) and Order and Chivalry (2010). His articles explore legal ontology, textual haunting, and sociolegal narratives in medieval manuscripts. Velasco’s recent projects include Overgrown Customs (medieval legal charters) and a theoretical work on 'Extraction' from manuscript margins.

Recipient of the 2010 John K. Walsh Award for legal-historical scholarship, Velasco also leads Iberian Connections, a transnational initiative linking medieval studies with contemporary critical thought. His teaching innovations include interdisciplinary courses on torture, inquisitions, and 'microliteratures,' often co-taught with legal and sociological scholars.