Anthropology and Classics double-major Aarya Newasekar has dedicated much of her undergraduate studies to exploring how ancient societies, such as the Greeks and Romans, used storytelling to express their identities and cultures. For Newasekar, studying history and culture through language has not only supported her academic journey but also has become a means of expressing her own cultural identity.
“I grew up surrounded by ancient history,” Newasekar, who is from India, said. “I think that is where my eventual interest in anthropology and Classics came from.”
Newasekar's decision to pursue anthropology was initially influenced by her experience of moving from India to the United States during high school in 2019. That choice was shaped partially by her upbringing, where she was immersed in various languages, myths and traditions. Although Newasekar moved around in India, she spent much of her childhood in the South Indian city of Hyderabad, while her family comes from Mumbai, in the western part of the country.
“Different languages are spoken in both cities, and both have slightly different cultures, so from very early on I was fascinated by language and culture,” Newasekar said.
In 2019, Newasekar moved to Texas while she was still in high school, just before the COVID-19 pandemic. Her transition to the United States was challenging, as she had to adapt to a new culture and education system while navigating an unprecedented crisis.
"My first actual academic year in the US was my freshman year of college,” she said. “Since I moved around so much, I was always fascinated by culture and history, so I picked anthropology as my major.”
After choosing Latin to fulfill her foreign language requirement, Newasekar’s growing fascination with the ancient world and languages led her to pursue a double-major in both anthropology and Classics.
“I’m passionate about Classics, and it really helped me focus a lot of my anthropological interests on a specific time period,” Newasekar said. “I enjoy learning the mechanics of the language, but I also enjoy understanding how much the culture shaped the language and how language shapes culture.”
This passion drove her to explore a range of different Classics courses, including intermediate Greek prose, Greek and Roman drama, and a directed study on advanced Latin poetry with Dr. Emmanuel Aprilakis, visiting lecturer in the Department of Global Language and Cultures.
“Aarya is one of the most impressive students I’ve had the fortune of teaching,” Aprilakis said. “I’ve had the opportunity to witness her skills firsthand across the core areas of our discipline such as ancient Greek, Latin and cultural history.”
Building on her Greek and Latin coursework, Newasekar is teaching herself Sanskrit, a close relative of the two. Having grown up speaking Marathi and Hindi, both of which use the same script and linguistic roots as Sanskrit, she saw an opportunity to further her understanding of ancient languages.
“Growing up in India, I never got a chance to formally learn Sanskrit, but I understood it through religious prayers. I always wanted to learn it, so I started with Latin and Greek,” Newasekar said. “It's fascinating learning all three of those languages and seeing just how similar they are to each other.”
Newasekar’s enthusiasm for history, language and storytelling naturally translated to her writing, where she has published several historical fiction and prose pieces. One of her standout works, “In Between Divinity and Humanity: Heroism and Grief in The Iliad and The Mahābhārata,” was published in the Fall 2024 issue of Texas A&M’s undergraduate journal Explorations.
It has been a distinct joy of mine to oversee Aarya on her journey, and I am confident that she has an especially bright road ahead of her.
“I choose to do a comparative analysis of the epic poems The Iliad and The Mahābhārata mostly because they’re my two favorite pieces of ancient literature,” Newasekar said. “I focus on the cultural interactions between the ancient Mediterranean and India. Both epics are shaped by similar Indo-European practices of storytelling.”
In addition to her work for Explorations, she published a short story titled “The Milkmaid's Descent,” for the October 2024 issue of Echo Literary Review, a historical fiction magazine. The story, set in 1600s Maharashtra, India — Newasekar’s home state — follows the life of a milkmaid during the Bhonsle dynasty.
“Her knowledge of the languages of the Indian subcontinent allows her to do comparative work that is not possible for those who only know European languages,” said Dr. Justin Lake, associate professor in the Department of Global Languages and Cultures.
Beyond her academics, in fall 2024, she co-founded and now serves as president of the Classics Club. Activities center around ancient cultures, such as Greek and Roman translations, a "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" game with Roman money and a board game called "Poetry for Neanderthals."
“We really wanted to have a place for everyone interested in Classics to meet, hang out, share their interests with one another and have an opportunity to build a community,” Newasekar said.
After graduation, Newasekar plans to attend law school to pursue a career in cultural heritage repatriation and museum law. Her interest in this field grew after writing a paper on the repatriation debate surrounding the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which was taken from India in the mid-1800s and now resides at the Tower of London as part of the British Crown jewels.
“I find this area fascinating because more countries are now demanding the return of their cultural heritage that was often wrongfully taken,” she said. “It also asks important questions about how we interact with history, who owns the past and whether past wrongs can be righted.”
Newasekar is confident that her academic background in anthropology and Classics has provided her with a solid foundation for her career.
“Law is ultimately a cultural institution,” she said. “Having studied these cultures, whose philosophies and law codes formed the basis of the modern Western legal institution, will be greatly helpful.”
As she moves toward a career in law, Newasekar is armed with both the understanding of ancient cultures and the skills needed to address contemporary cultural challenges. Whether it is learning Sanskrit through her coursework to writing about the myths from her childhood, Newasekar’s passion for language and history is evident in everything she does.
“I am so inspired by how seriously she takes her study of antiquity,” Aprilakis said. “It has been a distinct joy of mine to oversee Aarya on her journey, and I am confident that she has an especially bright road ahead of her.”
“Aarya has been one of the most dedicated students I have ever had,” said Dr. Constantine Karathanasis, assistant professor of Classics in the Department of Global Languages & Cultures. “She has already started publishing her research, which is not a small feat for an undergraduate student in and of itself. She recently presented a paper at the annual History Graduate Student Organization conference at Texas A&M.”
As she prepares for graduation in May, Newasekar sets her sights on law school, where she plans to apply her knowledge of language, culture and history to cultural heritage, focusing on museums and repatriation.
“It has been a distinct joy of mine to oversee Aarya on her journey, and I am confident that she has an especially bright road ahead of her,” Aprilakis said.
