Katarzyna Starczewska has presented her PhD dissertation Latin Translation of the Qur’ān (1518/1621) commissioned by Egidio da Viterbo. Critical Edition and Introductory Study, awarded ‘Apto Cum laude’ within the Doctorate Programme: Cultures en contacte a la Mediterrània Antiga, in 2012 at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Between 2008 and 2012 she was a graduate student research fellow PIF of the Departament de Ciències de l'Antiguitat i de l'Edat Mitjana Àrea de Filologia Llatina of the same university where she was a member of research group Islamolatina. La recepción del Islam en la Europa Latina. In 2009 she presented a research thesis titled El retrato de Mahoma en la Historia Arabum de Jiménez de Rada y en el Prologus Alcorani de Marcos de Toledo. Ejemplos de literatura de confrontación islamocristiana. She has authored numerous contributions and conducted research stays in the UK and Italy.
Katarzyna is also a member of L’Institut d’Estudis Medievals (The Institute of Medieval Studies)
She is currently working on a number of topics which revolve around the theme of Muslim culture being explained in the Latin language. Amongst her areas of interest are the various translations of doctrinal and philosophical terms, the Latin Qur’anic glossae, a study of the networks between the early modern translators whose target language was Latin, and the reflection of Latin polemics on early-modern treatises in national languages.
Within the framework of the CORPI Project, Katarzyna presented a number of papers, amongst which are:
- “Leo Africanus’ contribution to a Latin translation of the Qur’an: A case study of intellectual activity after conversion” presented at the conference held at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa (Italia), Christian-Islamic Interactions: Mobility, Connection, Transformation (1450-1800)
- "Apology in Notes - Venues for Encounters. Trajectory of Glossing Practices from Robert of Ketton's Translation of the Qur'an to that of Egidio da Viterbo." presented at the Polemical Encounters. Polemics between Christians, Jews and Muslims in Iberia and beyond.
- The article co-authored with Mercedes García-Arenal “`The Law of Abraham the Catholic’: Juan Gabriel as Qur’ān Translator for Martín de Figuerola and Egidio da Viterbo” will appear in Al-Qantara XXXV 2, Julio-diciembre 2014, pp. 409-459.