Jana Matuszak specializes in the Sumerian language and its literature. Firmly grounded in cuneiform philology, her work on gender, law, religion, and poetics uses innovative theorizations of ancient texts to engage broader humanistic discourses. She is the author of several articles on humor and subversion in Sumerian legal satires, Sumerian mythology, as well as misogyny and the construction of gender in Sumerian didactic poetry. Her monograph “Und du, du bist eine Frau?!” (“And you, you are a woman?!”) presents the first critical edition, translation, and comprehensive study of a nearly 4,000-year-old dramatic debate about the stakes of womanhood. Currently she is working on a second book project, tentatively titled Sumerian Mock Hymns and the Poetics of Subversion.

To learn more about Jana Matuszak’s research and publications, please visit her profile page at the Department of Middle Eastern Studies.