Matthew L. Keegan's work focuses on the intersections of Arabic literature and Islamic thought in the pre-modern period. His first book project explores the vast commentary tradition on the al-Hariri's Maqamat, a collection of Arabic trickster stories written in the 12th century that was a canonical text of Islamic education until the 19th century. He has also published articles on Islamic law, Quranic exegesis, and the Arabic literature of the Crusader period. Before arriving at Barnard, he received his PhD from NYU, taught at the American University of Sharjah, and completed a postdoc at the Freie Universität Berlin.