Dr. Jonathan Kearney
Jonathan Kearney is a graduate of University College Dublin where his undergraduate and postgraduate studies were in Near Eastern Languages, Islamic Studies and Jewish Studies. He lectured in the Department of Near Eastern Languages in UCD (part-time 1997–2001; full-time 2003–2007) and in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth (2007–2012). Between 2013 and 2016, Jonathan lectured in Religious Studies in St Patrick's College, Drumcondra. He has also lectured on an occasional basis in Trinity College DUblin. At present he lectures in Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies in the School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music, Dublin City University. Jonathan's research lies mainly in the textual and linguistic foundations of Judaism and Islam; religion and identity formation; and authority and boundaries in religions.
Research Interests
Islamic Studies, Jewish Studies; Islamic-Jewish Cultural Engagement; Textual traditions of Judaism, Islam and Christianity; Semitic languages and linguistics; Language and identity; Religious and linguistic minorities; History of religion; Religious Studies and the Study of Religion
Teaching Interests
My main teaching interests are in Judaism and Islam as religions, cultural complexes and civilisations. My approach is a broadly Religious Studies one: that is, I engage with religions as largely human phenomena and their cultural manifestations. I am also interested in the question of the nature of religion and utility of that term in describing the phenomena most commonly identified as religions. My initial training was largely philological, so I have a particular interest in the role played by languages in Judaism and Islam (from the role played by languages in the transmission of texts to the role of language as a marker of cultural identity). At present I teach introductory modules on Judaism, Islam and Arabic. I also contribute to a number of other modules offered by the School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music.