Julia Horn

Research Interests

Ancient medicine, public health, contagion, medical ethics, retrospective diagnosis, bioarcheology and paleopathology, medical experimentation, pharmacy, disability

Julia Horn’s primary research interest is in Greco-Roman medicine and public health. Her particular interests concern quality of life in the ancient world, including medical ethics, contagion, and disability. She is currently writing a book on the cultural history of tuberculosis that examines how the disease affected society on a personal and collective level. Julia completed her BA, BAHons, and MA at Victoria University of Wellington in her homeland New Zealand, and then her PhD in Classics from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to being a traditionally trained Classicist, Julia has trained in bioarcheology and paleopathology (human skeletons) in Italy, Romania and at UPenn. She is also a permanent Kolb Fellow at the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. As the bioarcheological evidence provides access to the physical reality of illness and the reality of the patient, whose experience is otherwise mediated by others’ writings or visual representations, she is driven to incorporate this and other contributions of modern scientific methods into her exploration of the history of science and health. Julia is co-appointed in the Integrated Liberal Studies program (ILS).