Philip Kaisary

Philip Kaisary is Professor of Law and Professor of English & Comparative Literary Studies at Carleton University, cross-appointed between the Department of Law and Legal Studies, the Department of English Language and Literature, and the Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art, and Culture. His work integrates Caribbean and Latin American studies, critical legal theory, human rights, and world literary studies.

Education:

• M.A. (Hons.) English Literature, University of Edinburgh
• M.A. Postcolonial Studies, University of Sussex
• Ph.D. English & Comparative Literary Studies, University of Warwick
• Graduate Diploma in Law, Oxford Brookes University
• Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Oxford Institute of Legal Practice
• Admitted as Solicitor of England & Wales (non-practising)

Research & Teaching: Kaisary’s scholarship interrogates law, literature, and film to foreground histories of slave resistance, the Haitian Revolution, and Black radical thought. Recent courses include Directions and Dead Ends in the Law & Literature Movement, The Haitian Revolution and Rights, and Critical Theory for Legal Studies.

Publications Trend: His recent articles (2020-2025) cluster around cinematic representations of slavery, the Haitian Revolution’s legal and cultural legacies, and materialist critiques of human rights discourse, evidencing a sustained engagement with visual culture and radical political thought.

Awards & Fellowships:

• Ruth and Mark Phillips Professor of Cultural Mediations, 2023–2025
• Fulbright Fellowship, Vanderbilt University
• Lord Haldane Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn
• Attorney General Award for Pro Bono activities

Graduate Supervision: He welcomes prospective students interested in materialist approaches to law & literature, critical legal studies, world literature, and Black Atlantic cultures.