Paul Schemm (YAB '92) was recently named foreign deputy regional editor at The Washington Post. Schemm studied abroad at AUC for a year in 1991, an experience that further piqued his interest in the Middle East and left him wanting more. He eventually returned to Cairo years later, where he grew his career as a reporter and editor. Now based in London, Paul recalls his time at AUC and in Cairo with fondness. 

Where were you born? Where did you grow up?

I was born in the United States. My father was a doctor in the army, and as a result, we moved a great deal, living in Germany and Belgium when I was young. My mother was also born in the Netherlands, so we had family in Europe. 

Are there any experiences you had as a child or teenager that pushed you toward the Middle East?

I was always interested in other countries and their histories. We came to Egypt when I was 15, and I got the chance to travel across the country and inside the region –– all of which left a deep impression on me so that when I went to Williams College, one of the first things I looked into was year-abroad programs in the Middle East.

Why did you choose AUC for your semester abroad?

Williams had an agreement with AUC. I believe Professor Raymond Baker was teaching at both institutions at the time, so that’s why I chose Egypt. Needless to say for a 19 year old, Cairo in 1991 was quite an experience and a long way from the remote bucolic setting of Williams. My group of year abroads were the first to stay in the then newly opened Zamalek dormitory.

What did you study during your year at AUC? 

My courses mostly focused on Middle East history and politics, as I was a political science major. I regret not taking more Arabic courses like some of my fellow year abroads did, and tackling the Arabic language, both Egyptian dialect and MSA has been a rather long saga. 

It is hard to say where I learned more: from the streets of Cairo, in the classrooms or just on the campus with other students. 

Probably one of my favorite classes was the introduction to Medieval Islamic Architecture in Cairo that involved Friday morning outings to the amazing mosques and madrasas of Gamaliya, the cemeteries and other neighborhoods. Years later, when I came back to live in Cairo, I would still go down and visit those parts of town, often dragging hapless visitors along for my architectural obsession.

What did you do after AUC?

After my time at AUC, I returned to the United States much more focused on studying the region than before. And for the next few years, with work in DC and then graduate school in Texas, it was all about finding a way back to the region, which I eventually did in 1997, getting an internship at an English-language weekly, Middle East Times. That kicked off 13 years of living in Cairo and working as a journalist. 

Part of my heart will always be in Cairo after spending such a formative period there. 

I met my wife in Cairo, and my son was born in a hospital on Roda Island. I have traveled through Egypt from the border crossing of Salloum down to the deserts around Toshka, visited churches in Upper Egypt and taken cruises on Lake Nasser. I covered protests at Cairo University and across the city at the start of the Iraq War, and I was in Tahrir Square when Mubarak resigned. For many years, I would ride every week in the desert around the pyramids.

When I walked through downtown –– and I lived for years in Mounira and then later Garden City –– I always looked fondly on the buildings of the Tahrir Square campus. Long after the University moved to New Cairo, I would still go to the Tahrir Square AUC bookstore. 

I worked for a number of local publications in Egypt, including AmCham’s Business Monthly and the long defunct Cairo Times, which I edited for a time. I eventually joined AFP and went to Baghdad for a little over a year to cover the situation there from around 2005 to 2006 and a few times afterward. I later moved to AP, where I wrote a bit and was an editor on their Mideast desk, working with correspondents from around the region.

In May 2011, I took a job as the AP chief correspondent in North Africa, based in Rabat, where I lived for the next four years. I visited Cairo a few times after that. I subsequently left AP and went to Ethiopia, working as a freelancer before joining The Washington Post as a part-time writer and editor. That work eventually became full time as a foreign desk editor, handling material for when people in DC were still asleep –– working with correspondents in East Asia, South Asia and across the Middle East, Africa and Europe. I moved to Dubai as part of my wife’s work and continued my Washington Post job from there. 

In my current role, I work with people in Europe, India and Africa but, of course, remain particularly interested in the Middle East.

How did studying at AUC shape your professional or personal life?

It is a little difficult to overstate the impact my time at AUC had on my life. On the one hand, I became much more independent –– negotiating a strange city in a language different from my own, learning about a new culture, meeting all sorts of different people. Some of the AUC students I met at that time I am still friends with all these years later (some even work there).

I think AUC gave me an entry into Egypt as a student, teaching me about the place, providing a sanctuary within its calm walls to eventually allow me to venture on my own into the wild city. AUC has been playing the role as a bridge between East and West for generations of international students and visitors, and that is something I will always appreciate. It is hard for me to imagine my long experience with Egypt without the role of AUC at the beginning.

When AUC went fully online almost 18 months ago, Hanan Kholoussy, associate professor of history, panicked. After teaching face-to-face classes at AUC for more than a decade, she was unsure if she could quickly master the new technology and, more importantly, maintain a connection with her students. Little did she know, this sudden change would propel her to discover new things about herself, her students and the importance of well-being.

“What I noticed during the pandemic is that most of us, not just students, are not taught how to take care of ourselves –– physically, mentally and emotionally,” Kholoussy recalled. “We know the basics, but very few of us actually do it.” 

Luckily, Kholoussy employed during Egypt’s lockdown a wealth of techniques that require very little expertise. Seeking to share these with her students, many of whom had disclosed their struggles to the compassionate professor, Kholoussy developed two new courses: A History of Happiness and A History of Healing.

A History of Happiness started last year and is still running. It is a global history course that takes students to different time periods in all parts of the globe through the lens of things that are traditionally believed to make people happy, such as meditation, exercise and nutrition. A History of Healing began just a few weeks ago. This course focuses on the world’s oldest whole-body healing system Ayurveda, which stems from ancient India. 

In both courses, Kholoussy challenges her students to adopt what she calls a “happiness habit,” and blog or vlog about it each week, in addition to research and writing assignments on the history of these habits. This particular assignment allowed her a lens into the lives of all of her students, rather than the usual few each semester. 

“Some students prefer to write, others to talk. I've given them a platform to express themselves every week. It's one-on-one, and I don't share their blogs or vlogs with anyone. A number of them have really opened up to me, and I feel very privileged that they do that. It's quite an honor.”

Salma Sabry ‘21, a double major in integrated marketing communication and history, took Kholoussy’s course as one of her final classes at AUC. “As soon as I saw ‘History of Happiness’ I was instantly intrigued by the topic. I never thought that there could be a history to feelings like happiness. I instantly wanted to know how it can be studied from a historical perspective,” she recalled.

Sabry adopted yoga as her “happiness habit” and quickly began to notice a difference. “Beyond the physical benefits. it eased my anxiety and helped me with managing my stress, which was the primary cause of my migraines,” she said.

Overall, she is grateful for the unique experience and continues to practice yoga.

“Most courses that have stayed with me after graduation added to my academic scope; however, this course significantly affected my personal life, which is something I hadn’t experienced prior,” she said. “Dr. Hanan has been more than a professor to me and is someone I look up to as a mentor now.”

Abdelrahman Mouchabet '21, an economics major, felt the same about the class and Kholoussy, saying, "Dr. Hanan's class was not what I expected at all. The discussions managed to touch me personally and help me understand why certain habits were fulfilling to me and others weren't."

Another student, construction engineering graduate Amr Orz '21, noticed during the course a sense of passion within himself that had not been there prior. "Dr. Hanan's approach with the students was vastly different than what I was used to. Effortlessly, she made us all excited to join class and participate."

After seeing her students employ technology to share their experiences, Kholoussy felt inspired to do the same. So for the first time, she created an Instagram account, @honeywellness, where she allows the world a clear view of her personal challenges and insights. With her student’s permission, she also features their wellness journeys on her account.

Previously, the professor described herself as "tech-aversive." She could use PowerPoint and other basic programs, but things like Zoom’s advanced features and Google folders were alien to her. “I was trained to write and research in a particular way that's very impersonal and archaic. I could insist on speaking that language to my students, and they won't get much out of it, nor will I.”

But after getting a good handle on many different forms of learning and communication platforms, Kholoussy found that communicating with her students in “their language” was key to creating closer, more supportive relationships.

“I really felt a bond. And it wasn't just between me and the students. They themselves created this really amazing rapport."

For all the remarkable connections Kholoussy was able to foster during AUC’s closure, she is happy to be back on campus, and notes the same happiness in other community members. “Almost everyone is just so excited to be back in person,” she said. “That energy, that excitement is contagious; it's palpable. It's wonderful to teach in that kind of environment.”

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Photo by Lina Trochez on Unsplash

Aliaa Ismail '14 has been named among Apollo's 40 Under 40 for Art & Tech, which annually highlights young professionals for their pioneering work at the crossroads of art and technology.

Holding a Bachelor of Science in architectural engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Egyptology from AUC, Ismail is an Egyptologist, director of the Theban Necropolis Preservation Initiative and director of the 3D Scanning, Training and Archiving Centre at Luxor's Stoppelaere House. She produces large-scale 3D scans in the Valley of the Kings and is currently working on the Tomb of Seti I. "Every day we start work at 5:30 am. My team and I head into the tomb and I make sure everything is running smoothly and fix any problems that pop up," she said.

Ismail is also responsible for training team members, coordinating with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and communicating with the media and Factum Foundation, a not-for-profit conservation organization in Madrid.

Her work, which has been featured in National Geographic's “Lost Treasures of Egypt" and "Secrets of Egypt’s Valley of the Kings,” aims to offer the public access to archaeological and historical sites while simultaneously protecting and preserving them from further damage. 

"The Theban Necropolis Preservation Initiative is all about digital heritage preservation for future generations. We work to digitally preserve all the Theban tombs at the highest possible resolution by taking 3D scans of their walls," she explained. "This ambitious project also aims to transfer the knowledge of 3D scanning to the local community in Luxor and so far, we have been doing so effectively. I am working on site with an all-Egyptian team, whom I have trained myself."

Ismail has been managing this project since it began in 2016. Its timeline includes four working years (2016 and 2019-2021).

The young Egyptologist was also selected to take part in an exclusive panel discussion titled "Future-Proofing the Past," which took place on September 27 and focused on using technology in the preservation of artifacts.  

"I am delighted and proud that Aliaa is being featured in this prestigious list and has been chosen to be one of the very few panel discussants for an online event," said Salima Ikram (YAB ’86), distinguished University professor of Egyptology and international archaeologist. "Aliaa has combined Egyptology, architecture, and technology in her career, and her work is a superb example of a successful marriage between the humanities and sciences that advances and furthers art, history and technology."

Ismail herself was also pleased, especially as she was not aware of her nomination. "Honestly, it feels great to be nominated and chosen. This achievement brings me great honor," she said.

As of July 2021, John Meloy became AUC’s new dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. He earned his PhD in history from the University of Chicago and has a track record of academic achievements, including a record of research and publication in Islamic history, with a specialization in the Mamluk era.  

Furthermore, previously serving as chair of the Department of History and Archeology, associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and director of the Center for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies at the American University of Beirut, Meloy brings with him years of exemplary higher education experience to AUC.

Why did you decide to join AUC?

There was a convergence of factors, but mainly my decision was driven by the opportunity to contribute to AUC and to live in Egypt again.

You have extensive experience at higher education institutions, such as AUB, along with your research expertise. How will you build on this experience during your time at AUC?

I believe my experience in Beirut will help in my work here in Cairo, but I also recognize that each of these two institutions is unique. The real challenge, I think, is to be creative and collaborative in achieving our goals.

What is your vision as dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences?

My vision reflects the school’s vision statement: excellence in teaching, research and creative expression. Given the diversity of disciplines within HUSS, we are well-positioned to serve as the nexus of the local and the global in manifold ways.

What is your plan to further strengthen the visibility of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences?

Strengthening visibility is a never-ending project, achieved through publicizing faculty and student achievements and, whenever possible, extending what we do to the broader public. 

The critical skills our students acquire from our various disciplines give them the means to continue learning after they graduate. It’s not so much teaching them what they need to know now, but rather teaching them how to figure out what they need to know and giving them the skills and traits to teach themselves: sharpening critical thinking, cultivating curiosity and creativity, fostering individual and social awareness, and strengthening effective communication. 

Lifelong learning is the only way to prepare for the future.

What are your priorities during this coming year?

My priority are the people in HUSS. 

I hope to ensure that the faculty have the support they need to achieve their scholarly objectives, the students are getting the most out of their education, and our curriculum gives them the best possible springboard for their success.

Some fun facts: 

Favorite book?

Favorite of all time?  That’s a tough one. I’m usually pleased with whatever I’m reading now, which tends to be different things at once.  Vikram Seth’s Two Lives, which I found on an open bookshelf in the faculty housing, offers an intimate portrait of two quite different lives joined in the middle of the 20th century. 

Since coming to Cairo, after not living here for a long time, I’ve become interested in the extensive growth of the city, so I’ve turned to David Sims’ Egypt’s Desert Dreams, and Yahia Shawkat’s Egypt’s Housing Crisis is next on the list. A shoutout to AUC Press!

Favorite music?

My tastes are eclectic: Bach, Brubeck, BB King, the Beatles. Other letters of the alphabet are acceptable too.

Favorite activity? 

 Swimming.

Favorite Egyptian food?

 I wouldn’t mind eating a ta’amiya sandwich now.

Your hero/role model?

 All the great teachers I’ve had.

Greatest inspiration?

People who are great researchers and teachers.

Something not a lot of people know about you? 

A memorable spring break in college was spending a week on a Greyhound bus riding across the United States.

Best accomplishment?

Maybe not the best, but an accomplishment, is that Greyhound bus riding across the United States.

What problem do you wish to solve in the world? 

Wow. Where to start? 

AUC's alumni left their mark at Egypt's Entrepreneur Awards, taking home a number of awards. The event is held to honor the country's brightest entrepreneurs. You can find the full list of awardees here. 

Best Egyptian Product: Salah El-Dardir '12

CLEO Pharmaceutical Industries 

FIntech: Omar Abdelwahed '16

Valify

Food and Beverage - Fast Casual: Sameh El-Sadat '05, Tarek El Nazer '06, Basel Mashhour '04

TBS Holding Ltd.

Food and Beverage - Fine Dining: Ayman Baky '96

Baky Hospitality Group LLC

General Tech Services: Tarek Bakry '02

zVendo

Media and Advertising: Dina Aly '04

Matter

Next Generation Family Intrapreneur of the Year: Shahira Diab '98

La Poire

Tourism: Youssef Fayez '04

Les Concierges Egypt

Transportation and Logistics: Omar Hagrass '10

Trella

UN Sustainable Development Goals - Environmental Sustainability: Yaseen Abdel-Ghaffar '09

SolarizEgypt

At its recent meeting, AUC's Board of Trustees approved the tenure of Assistant Professors Rania Samir, management; Nesrin Badawi political science; and Diaa Noureldin, economics. 

"Professors Rania, Diaa and Nisreen are all prime examples of AUC's commitment to excellence, and it  is a privilege to count them among our most dedicated faculty members. I am delighted to know that they will be educating AUC students for years to come while carrying out impactful and pioneering research. AUC continues to be fully committed to tenuring excellent faculty," said

Provost Ehab Abdel Rahman.

Samir has taught at AUC for 12 years, with the first four years being an adjunct faculty member.

"It is a great achievement that I have been working hard for during the past eight years," Samir said. "It will give me the drive to excel more in the different facets of work — teaching, research and service work."

Teaching in the Department of Management, her research interests include internet marketing, social media and innovation adoption. She has published a book on the Adoption of Web-based Marketing in the travel industry with Lambert Academic Publishing in 2011.

"AUC is a competitive environment that requires continuous self enhancement," she added. 

For Badawi, who teaches public and international law, tenure is a part of doing something she cherishes. 

"With tenure becoming a scarce commodity, particularly for mother academics, I feel extremely privileged and rewarded for a career that has been my passion for the past decade," she said. 

She has been teaching at AUC since 2010, and going into the next phase of her career, she intends to focus on examining the scope of judicial discretion and its impact on public life in Egypt. Her research interests include Islamic jurisprudence, international humanitarian law and the relationship between international law and Islamic law. She has experience working with UNHCR in refugee law and has offered consultancy work to several organizations on humanitarian law and Islamic law.

"I am extremely grateful to the tremendous support I have received from my department and my colleagues at AUC," she said. "I know I couldn’t have gotten there without their help and support. I am also indebted to my husband and my family without whom this wouldn’t have been possible and to my children who have shown great patience for the past years."

Noureldin, who teaches economics, has taught at AUC for 13 years. His research interests include econometrics, time series analysis, forecasting, quantitative finance and macroeconomics. He currently serves as advisor to the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies and as a research associate and thematic co-leader at the Economic Research Forum, a regional think tank focusing on the Middle East, in the theme of macroeconomics of natural resources, structural transformation and growth.

“Many of my mentors back in the United States wanted me to work with Bernard O’Kane, professor of Islamic art and architecture in AUC’s Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations because he is one of the most distinguished scholars in this field,” recounted Mai Mohamed Kolkailah ’21 on what made her join AUC.

At that time, Kolkailah was a Mellon Undergraduate Curatorial Fellow at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston prior to pursuing her graduate studies.

After immersing herself in the Art of the Islamic Worlds Department there and working with several other museums in the field, she wanted to specialize in Islamic art and architecture due to the “significant lack of diversity within the curatorial teams” she recognized. Her curatorial supervisor highly recommended AUC’s program. Later, she indeed joined the University and received the Nadia Niazi Mostafa Endowed Fellowship in Islamic Art and Architecture.

“The deficit of Arabic expertise among Islamic art specialists at museums is primarily what motivated me to focus on this field,” said Kolkailah. “In our increasingly geopolitical world where Islam is often misrepresented and thus misunderstood, I realize my role as an Arab American, Muslim woman in dismantling cultural stereotypes and presenting Islamic art within contexts that elucidate nuanced understandings of the Islamic culture.”

Kolkailah’s goal is to become a scholar and curator of Islamic art and architecture, hoping to publish her graduate research and obtain her PhD in the next few years. “AUC’s program not only gave me the specialized Islamic art training necessary for that but also provided me with the platform opportunities and academic credibility I needed to achieve my goals,” she asserted.

Indeed, two of her favorite courses turned out to be those by Professor O’Kane, namely Decorative Arts and Art of the Book, attributed to the wealth of information she acquired about Islamic art as opposed to just architecture.

“I feel like all my favorite moments at AUC happened, thanks to Professor O’Kane, from our adventures on field trips visiting Islamic architecture to our intriguing debates in class, his library assignments that felt like scavenger hunts for books, and, last but not least, joining the admirable initiative of publishing on Wikipedia for our final papers,” narrated Kolkailah. “Quite frankly, my graduate school experience would have been average if it wasn’t for his mentorship.”

Yet Kolkailah emphasized that “one of the perks of finally doing what you love is that you find most, if not all, of the courses you take are interesting.”

She recalled a particular course, Hadith, led by Ahmed Khan, assistant professor in the Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations. “The class was outside of my specialty, and I took it as an elective. I was out of my depth, to say the least,” she reflected. “The challenge of catching up and the pressure of going head-to-head with graduates specializing in Islamic studies is precisely why this seminar resonated with me. The knowledge I gained from Professor Khan definitely honed my understanding of Islamic material culture.”

And on that note, just like the course was unexpectedly one of her memorable ones, Kolkailah concluded that “life doesn’t always play out according to the scenarios we plan,” emphasizing that “whichever way my professional and academic journey unfolds, I hope to make my mentors and department proud as a token of my appreciation for the knowledge, time and effort they have invested in me.”

One particular thing she’s grateful for is how supportive her department was when her father passed away. "I am grateful to all my professors for trying to reach out and sharing words of comfort,” she stressed. “My father was an extraordinary man, and I would not have become the woman I am proud to be today if it wasn’t for him.”

“Unfortunately, science as a field, to many, is associated with masculinity, and I wanted to challenge this myth,” said Heba EL-Deghaidy, chair of the Department of International and Comparative Education at AUC's School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

A prevalent myth claims that women are “no good” at physics, but just taking EL-Deghaidy as an example, many female members of her family are professors in physics and chemistry, and her educational background is in science education. She also observed numerous women who chose to study the various fields of science throughout her career, confirming that the myth merely stems from a stereotype, which many studies support but aren’t conclusive.

With that in mind, she took it upon herself to explore and document the reality behind women in science in general and in the Middle East, in particular.

“Research on gender-science stereotypes illustrates that there are differences between female and male youth in STEM (science, technology engineering and mathematics) school subjects. Boys are seen to be more into STEM subjects than girls,” elaborated EL-Deghaidy.

“There is even subtle and blatant stereotyping of women in physics laboratories in Western countries, such as Canada, Europe and the Unites States, identifying many ways in which stereotypes affect professional interactions and impact the careers of women. However, this argument differs based on the location. Based on rsesearch, in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Morocco and Western Asia, there is an imbalance in favor of women,” she said.

When it comes to Egypt, EL-Deghaidy clarified that data is limited, difficult to find and sometimes conflicting to one another.  “The Global Gender Gap Report 2021 includes data on 156 countries, including Egypt, comparing them on the index benchmarks and illustrating gender disparity on a scale from 0-100 in political empowerment, economic participation and opportunity, educational attainmen, health and survival. The educational attainment includes the gender gap in STEM fields,” she said.

“However, there seems to be an increase in the number of women joining physics as a major. At Ain Shams university for example, a study in 2015 showed an increase in the number of females entering physics as a major between the years of 2011-2014. Similar results from Assiut University show that physics is more appealing to women than men mainly due to job opportunities," explained EL-Deghaidy.

Additionally, other factors attract individuals to specific fields, a topic which more recent studies focus on. For instance, Effect of culture on women physicists’ career choice: A comparison of Muslim-majority countries and the West focused on Muslim-majority (MM) countries that excel in female representation in physics when compared to Western countries. The results revealed that cultural, economic and societal norms play an important role in helping both genders define their interests and identities.

The study also investigated the factors that both draw women to and push them away from physics, highlighting five cultural areas where being a woman and physicist aligned in Muslim-majority countries: religion, social interactions, community goals, femininity and family life.

• Religion was a driving force and motivational cultural factor for pursuing physics and having a stance in life. In MM countries, religiosity and gender identity are congruent with physics identity. This is contrary to the West where science and religion can be at odds.
• Social interactions with the opposite gender were less encouraged than in Western countries. Educational settings were mainly gender-segregated, limiting exposure to gendered views related to physics that affect persistence. The limited social interaction was a seamless gender identity boundary congruent with physics identity.
• The outward expressions of femininity for participants in public spaces are tied to expressions of modest clothing and adornment being able to cross gender boundaries by giving more attention to women’s intrinsic intellectual contributions rather than their appearances. Women’s physical attractiveness is not valued in the physics community as an expression of membership. This is contrary to the West, where appearances are linked with feminine identity.
• Communal goals, femininity and physics identity were well-aligned. Physics is seen as a subject that serves not only agentic goals but the general public too. Saving humanity and fields linked to biophysics and technological advancement were all shared by the participants as congruent with communal goals as part of their Islamic religious culture.
• Families influenced study and career choices, especially as parents valued learning and education and had high expectations of their daughters.

But how about studies and actual employment? How large is the gap and are there as many women employed in the industry as those who studied it? EL-Deghaidy elaborated that studies have identified what’s called a “leaky pipeline” that reveals a decrease in the number of women being employed after completing their studies. Taking Egypt as an example, in 2018, women didn’t exceed 24.2% of the overall workforce (CAPMAS).

“In physics, women mainly work in research and teaching positions than in industry and business,” she noted. “In academia, seven universities in Egypt compared the gender distribution of physics department faculty positions at the rank of demonstrator to full professor. Results showed that the majority of women are found at the demonstrator levels with less women being promoted to associate and full professors. Reasons for this drop are attributed to shortage in research facilities and funding support.”

Yet, El Deghaidy chooses to look at the silver lining.

“Despite the difficulties, there are various role models in the field, dating back to Sameera Moussa, the first female Egyptian nuclear physics- and recently, Elham Fadaly '13, who won the Physics World 2020 Breakthrough of the Year with her team at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands," she asserted. "I do expect this pattern to continue as long as cultural norms are consistent. “

For Soraya Altorki, professor of anthropology, the study of anthropology is more a look into different perspectives on life than it is a science. That’s why she established the Soraya Altorki Award in Ethnographic Research, giving students the chance to write publishable work and increase their interest in anthropology. Each Spring, the Award Committee will select the best piece of ethnographic, for a $1000 prize.

“My hope is that [my students] have somehow picked up a perspective,” Altorki said about the award. “That's why and I feel so grateful for this opportunity. That's why I established an award for more of the graduate students to write some graphic piece that will help understand these different situations around us. I have a passion about anthropology.”

Altorki’s love for anthropology runs deep. She is the first Saudi Arabian woman to get a PhD in the subject, after have graduated from the University of California in Berkley in 1973. She attended boarding school in Alexandria in the mid 50s, then graduated from AUC. The study of anthropology was relatively new in the Arab world when she specialized in it, but she believes it is one of the most important subjects today. 

“One is all the more enriched by learning and practicing anthropology,” she said. “It teaches this, I think, respect for all human beings and appreciation of their culture everywhere, wherever they are. And that, I think, is something very much needed today, that we listen on equal terms to others, and not to kind of use our own perspective to judge other societies.”

What drew her to study it in the first place is the human interaction involved. Labs, she said, are not her forte, but having a casual chat with someone teaches you more than any textbook can ever. And it teaches you to let down your preconceived notions about individuals and societies. 

“We sit and chat. And we come out of it changed ourselves. We discover more about our own humanity in the course of learning about the show. That's very appealing. I don't find it in other fields,” she said. 

She likes to describe anthropology as “enriching,” saying that when one travels as an anthropologist, it is humbling, for you are able to have dialog with people on equal terms. 

“We need to look at others as equals that sometimes to realize we are not really we don't go much further with this technology than they do with their simple way of life,” she said.

Most of all, she believes anthropology is fun. Going to a new culture, learning the language, and living there is an experience you don’t get anywhere else. 

Most of Altorki’s research focuses on gender and women’s issues. This, however, was not a choice. When she moved back to Saudi Arabia to complete fieldwork for her PhD, she was only allowed to work with women. Her research continued in that area, but she has ventured into different directions since, including family units, religion — Islam in particular — and Arab societies.

Altorki moved back to Saudi Arabia after completing her PhD, hoping to be a part of the change in women’s education and the emerging field of anthropology in the region. While she ran into some road bumps that eventually got her to leave her home country, she finds achievement in witnessing her students change their perspectives her at AUC. 

She recalled a time when some students were making fun of how people in Saudi Arabia eat with their hands. “I told them ‘ I want you to know that my family sat down on the floor. And we ate with our hands.’ And there’s a moment of silence. When I think that their perspective is beginning to change, knowledge they can get anywhere, the sis where I feel greatly rewarded.” 

And it’s in these students that she wants to invest time and knowledge, so thatchy grow up to understand the world from different perspectives, so that they view others as equals, and appreciate the diversity surrounding them.