معرفی
Jonny Robert Lawrence serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences, with additional affiliations in the Medieval Studies Program and Religious Studies Program.
He earned his DPhil from the University of Oxford in 2022, where he subsequently held the position of Departmental Lecturer in Classical Arabic Literature before joining Cornell. His scholarly work centers on constructions of sexuality, gender, and emotions within pre-modern Arab-Islamic literary and intellectual traditions.
Lawrence's research examines how narratives shaped moral frameworks around sexual desire and emotional experience, particularly through religious and profane storytelling. His current book project Narratives of Love: Chastity, Sexuality and Desire in Medieval Arabic Literature and Thought investigates how passion narratives constructed lived emotional realities. His methodological approach integrates Queer and Feminist Theory with Intellectual History to analyze textual representations of identity.
His recent publications demonstrate consistent engagement with emotional manipulation in classical Arabic tales, biographical writing traditions, cross-cultural encounters between Islamic and colonial worlds, and manuscript transmission histories. This body of work reveals interdisciplinary connections between literary analysis, emotional theory, and socio-historical contexts across the medieval Mediterranean and South Asia.
Professional recognition includes:
- Runner-up for the Royal Asiatic Society’s David Morgan Prize (2022)
Lawrence actively seeks to advise graduate students in pre-modern Arabic literature, Islamic studies (primarily pre-modern), and medieval/early-modern Islamic history. While specific grant details aren't provided in the source material, his research trajectory suggests sustained funding for manuscript studies and cross-cultural historical projects. His teaching portfolio includes foundational courses on Islam and the Qur'an, reflecting his commitment to undergraduate and graduate education in religious and medieval studies.
