Lawrence Irvin Conrad (born 1949) is a British historian and scholar of

Oriental studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...

, specializing in Near Eastern studies and the

history of medicine The history of medicine is both a study of medicine throughout history as well as a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand medical practices, both past and present, throughout human societies. The history of med ...

. He currently serves as historian for the

Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine The Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine (1968–1999) was a London centre for the study and teaching of medical history. It consisted of the Wellcome Library and an Academic Unit. The former was and is a world-class library collection ...

in London.

Education and career

Conrad received his Ph.D. from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, completing his dissertation on ''The Plague in the Early Medieval Near East'' in 1981. After a brief period working at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

, he moved in 1985 to the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine at

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. In 2001, he moved to the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

, where he remained until his retirement in 2008. Conrad is known for his work on medieval Near Eastern social history,

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Islamic medicine In the history of medicine, "Islamic medicine", also known as "Arabian medicine" is the science of medicine developed in the Middle East, and usually written in Arabic, the ''lingua franca'' of Islamic civilization. Islamic medicine adopted, s ...

, and Arabic, Greek, and Syriac historiography.

Selected publications

Authored books * * Edited books * Translated books *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Lawrence 1949 births Academics of University College London British Arabists British literary historians British medical historians British Islamic studies scholars British male non-fiction writers British orientalists Living people British scholars of Islam History of Quran scholars Princeton University alumni Academic staff of the University of Hamburg