John Shelton Lawrence is an emeritus professor of philosophy at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, United States.
Campbell's monomyth described a universal narrative of the myth of the hero's journey which he claimed had disappeared in contemporary culture.
Lawrence and Jewett described an American evolution of this mythological structure that reflected a deep antipathy to democratic institutions through the violent actions of a hero who remains separate from the community.
In collaboration with Morningside College professor Marty Knepper, Lawrence published The Book of Iowa Films in June 2014.
He is also known for work on scholarly-related issues in copyright through his edited volume (w. Bernard Timberg) Fair Use and Free Inquiry (1980, 1989) and the ethics of computer media for academic use and has written The Electronic Scholar: A Guide to Academic Microcomputing, published in 1984, which suggests many of the ethical issues that would arise with the advent of the Internet.