Dr. Maman Lesmana merupakan akademisi dan Guru Besar di Fakultas Ilmu Pengetahuan Budaya, Universitas Indonesia, serta menjabat sebagai Ketua Departemen Kajian Wilayah. Karier akademiknya telah berlangsung sejak akhir 1980-an dengan fokus pada sastra, budaya, dan identitas masyarakat. Bidang keahlian dan penelitiannya meliputi sastra Arab, humor, folklor, narasi budaya Asia Tenggara, dan komunikasi digital. Dengan pendekatan interdisipliner, penelitiannya mengkaji hubungan antara humor, sastra, budaya, kekuasaan, dan identitas. Kajian tersebut melihat humor dan folklor tidak hanya sebagai bentuk ekspresi budaya, tetapi juga sebagai bagian dari cara masyarakat memahami tradisi, identitas, dan kehidupan sosial.
Dr. Maman Lesmana is an academic and Professor at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, and serves as Head of the Department of Area Studies. His academic career, which began in the late 1980s, has focused on literature, culture, and social identity. His research interests include Arabic literature, humor, folklore, Southeast Asian cultural narratives, and digital communication. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, his research explores the relationships between humor, literature, culture, power, and identity. His work examines humor and folklore not only as forms of cultural expression, but also as ways in which communities understand tradition, identity, and social life.