Julia Chatterjee

Before I came to Penn, I spent a summer at the Penn Museum cataloguing human skulls. Shelves lined with skulls, that reached up to the ceiling was something straight out of a horror flick; I was hooked.  That was my first taste of research at Penn and it definitely wouldn’t be the last.  As a student of ancient civilizations of the Near East and South Asia, my interest lies in the analysis of ancient texts.  Not only have I been able to take classes in several ancient languages, but I’ve also participated in research programs and internships at the Penn Museum, which allowed me to work with the actual artifacts, and even contribute to museum galleries.  I’ve also been able to carry out my own research which involves the translation of a previously untranslated dream-omen text written in Sanskrit!  If someone like me, who has such specific interests, can find opportunities for humanities research here at Penn, I guarantee you can too.  Students often times don’t know about the research opportunities at Penn that don’t take place in a lab, but I’m here to say that they exist and they’re waiting for you!  Please reach out if you have any questions about finding humanities research opportunities. I’d love to hear from you!

• College Alumni Society Research Grant (Mentor: Dr. Deven Patel)
• Penn Museum Fellows (Mentor: Dr. Steve Tinney)
• Al-Hiba Publication Project (Primary Investigator: Dr. Holly Pittman)