More than 100 staff members work in the Division of the Humanities. We'll introduce you to our staff in this continuing series.

Benjamin Shurtleff
Research Specialist, Office of the Dean

What do you like most about your job?
Every few months I work with a different department, and so I like having the chance to interact with a variety of collaborators and familiarize myself with the distinct culture and goals of each.  Part of my job includes conducting surveys of current students and alumni, and I enjoy seeing the topics/themes raised by the respondents—identifying which seem common among departments in the Division and which are more specific to individual departments.

What was the last good book you read?
The last book I finished was Energy of Delusion by Viktor Shklovsky. Recently I rediscovered The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis and am currently going through those.

You might work with me if you...
……need assistance conducting a departmental self-evaluation. Or if you’re a divisional faculty member on one of the committees I sometimes do logistical work for, and you need someone to take care of scheduling and order catering. So, you may work with me if you need a room and sandwiches for your meeting.

When you're not at work, what kinds of projects do you like to take on?
I write fiction and sometimes songs. Currently I’m working on two really different novels—one about dreams and one that’s a faux-detective-story/family-chronicle.