Faculty
Laura Thompson
Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Office: Palamountain 320W
E-mail: lthompson@skidmore.edu
Phone: 518-580-5461
Office hours: Thursdays 11:30 a.m. and by appointment
Education:
- PhD, Harvard University
- Master鈥檚 of Theological Studies, Harvard Divinity School
- B.A., Georgetown University
Research and interests:
My research interests span the study of language, of religion, and of emotions. I am especially interested in words鈥� ability to hurt or to repair, and I study language that sits across the sacred-profane divide, including blasphemy, hate speech, comedy, poetry, and prayer. I am also interested in the power of claims of moral injury, and in how they might facilitate or limit civil discourse and democratization.
I am currently working on a book on blasphemy cases in Tunisia, Who Speaks for the Sacred. Trained as an Islamicist and North Africanist, I work with historical and contemporary sources in Arabic and French. My new research examines blasphemy in the wider Mediterranean region, including France and Spain, and invites comparison between hate speech and blasphemy prosecutions on both shores.
In addition to creative non-fiction and ethnography, I also read and write fiction. I received my PhD from Harvard University in 2022.