Joseph E. Lowry

Photo Of Joseph E. Lowry With Chin Resting On His Hand

Associate Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies

837 Williams Hall

Joseph E. Lowry is a specialist in Islamic law, Arabic literature, and classical Islamic thought. He is the author, among other works, of Early Islamic Legal Theory: the Risala of Muhammad Ibn Idris al-Shafi'i (Brill, 2007) and the editor (with D. Stewart and S. Toorawa) of Law and Education in Medieval Islam: Studies in Memory of George Makdisi (Gibb Memorial Trust, 2005), and (with D. Stewart) of Essays in Arabic Literary Biography II: 1350-1850 (Harrasowitz, 2009). He has edited and translated al-Shafi‘i’s Epistle on Legal Theory for the Library of Arabic Literature (NYU Press, 2013) and remains a Consulting Editor to the Library of Arabic Literature. He is a member of the editorial boards of the journals Islamic Law and Society (Brill) and Abbasid Studies (Brill), is an editor (with Devin Stewart and Shawkat Toorawa) of the series Resources in Arabic and Islamic Studies (Lockwood Press), and is an editor (with Karen Bauer and Shawkat Toorawa) of the series IQSA Studies in the Qur’an (De Gruyter). Before completing his PhD, he was an attorney in private practice.

Office Hours
TR 3:30-4:00 and by appointment
Courses Taught
  • Introduction to the Qur'an (NELC 130)
  • Introduction to Islamic Law (NELC 238)
  • Islamic Intellectual Tradition (NELC 437)
  • Approaches to Islamic Law (NELC 638)
  • Introduction to Reading the Qur'an in Arabic (ARAB 333)
  • Introduction to Classical Islamic Texts (ARAB 436)
  • Seminar in Islamic Thought (ARAB 731)