David Ratzan Becomes ISAW's Head Librarian

David Ratzan joins ISAW this month as Head of the Library. He is currently Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Greek and Roman Classics at Temple University. Before that he served as Curator of Papyri in Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library (2011-13), where he supported instruction and faculty and student research, as well as initiating a digital project involving ancient inscriptions.  He is currently involved in an ongoing interdisciplinary project at Columbia investigating the chemical composition and history of ancient inks via Raman spectroscopy. The search committee, composed of ISAW faculty and faculty from the Division of Libraries, found his vision of supporting an integrated research environment for the ancient world, embracing print materials, digital works, and artifacts, exciting and persuasive.

Dr. Ratzan took his B.A. in Greek Literature from Yale University, was a Paul Mellon Fellow from Yale College to Clare College, Cambridge University, and did his Ph.D. in Classical Studies at Columbia University, writing his dissertation on contract norms and enforcement in Graeco-Roman Egypt. He co-edited with Sabine R. Huebner Growing up Fatherless in Antiquity (Cambridge University Press, 2009), and has co-edited with Uri Yiftach-Firanko and Dennis Kehoe Law and Transaction Costs in the Ancient Economy (University of Michigan Press, 2014).