Julia Olson

Julia Olson is a Ph.D. student in Hebrew Bible and Cognate Studies at HUC-JIR Cincinnati. She is currently writing her dissertation. Her primary focus is the use of rhetoric in ancient history writing and the Akkadian language. She previously studied at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she received an MA and an M.Th. in Hebrew Bible. She also received a BA in Philosophy and Creative Writing from Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. From May of 2019 to March of 2022, Olson served as an Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow at the Cincinnati Art Museum where she worked on the reinstallation of the ancient Middle Eastern gallery, focusing primarily on collections research, display, and gallery interpretation.

Olson has previously taught courses on the Pentateuch and methods of Eastern Mediterranean excavation. She has also given lectures on museum ethics, focusing on looted and unprovenanced materials as well as the display of human remains.