Mary Tezak
I am a PhD student in the Department of History, and I joined the program in 2021.
I specialize in the Ottoman Empire during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. My research interest is the formation of the contemporary Turkey-Syria border. Beyond broader geopolitical and diplomatic histories, I am particularly concerned with how local communities contributed to, responded to, and resisted practices of border formation. I am greatly interested in histories of labor, environment, and illicit trade. Before coming to Georgetown, I worked as the Chief of Staff at a nonprofit organization. I earned my Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Studies and History from Vanderbilt University.