Jocelyn Hendrickson

Jocelyn Hendrickson is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, Classics, and Religion at the University of Alberta, Faculty of Arts. She holds a PhD from Emory University and has held research fellowships including Fulbright awards and a Visiting Scholar position at Academia Sinica, Taipei (2024). Her research focuses on Islamic legal history in medieval North Africa and al-Andalus, culminating in her award-winning monograph Leaving Iberia: Islamic Law and Christian Conquest in North West Africa (2021).

Education:

• BA in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Washington (Seattle)
• BA in International Studies: Comparative Religion, University of Washington
• MA in Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ulster
• PhD in Religion, Emory University

Research Interests: Hendrickson examines Islamic legal frameworks in medieval and early modern North Africa and al-Andalus, with a focus on responses to Christian conquest, Mālikī fatwās, and the socio-political dimensions of Islamic law. Her recent work includes critical editions of premodern legal texts and guides to Arabic manuscript libraries in Morocco.

Teaching & Awards: She teaches courses in Islamic history, medieval studies, and religious studies. In 2024, she received the Faculty of Arts Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Philip Lawson Teaching Award. Current courses include Religion in History and History of Islam, scheduled for 2025-2026 terms.

Awards:

• MEM Book Prize (2023)
• W. Wesley Pue Prize (2022)
• Covered multiple fellowships (Fulbright, SSRC)

Future Work: On research leave (sabbatical) in Fall 2024, she is advancing projects on premodern Moroccan legal texts and expanding her work on post-colonial legal historiography.