History Hash Outs: How Studying History Has Influenced My Career

Join us for a talk reflecting on how studying history at AUC shaped a career path that wound through heritage research, arts management and now doctoral study. Mayar Kotb will trace her journey from graduating from AUC in 2011, through roles as a historical researcher for architecture and heritage organizations in Cairo and as a coordinator and manager for film and video art festivals, to her decision to return to academia and begin a PhD in history at New York University in 2023. The talk will close with candid, in-hindsight reflections on opportunities she wishes she had taken more advantage of — both during her time at The American University in Cairo and after graduation — to better prepare for the job and academic market. Speaker background: Mayar Kotb is a PhD candidate in African history at New York University, researching medieval West Africa and Egypt, with a focus on connecting the two regions through terrestrial navigation and timekeeping technologies across the Sahara. She holds a master's in modern Middle East history from SOAS, University of London, and a bachelor's in modern Middle East history from The American University in Cairo.