Reese Hollister Research, Teaching, Building

About

About Reese Hollister

Reese Hollister is a historian and educator focused on North Africa, postcolonial institutions, and writing support.

This site is organized around work samples: decks, datasets, maps, teaching, and public writing.

Reese Hollister outside Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco.
Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane, Morocco — Fulbright research base, 2023–24.

Background

Where the work comes from

Six stages that shaped the research, teaching, and building.

  1. Manhattan College 2019–2023

    B.A. in History and Political Science. Published in peer-reviewed history journals; won institutional research awards; developed the core interest in postcolonial Africa and French institutional history that drives the current work.

  2. SALAM School — Oman Summer 2022

    Intensive Arabic language study and early teaching experience at the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center language program in Muscat. First sustained engagement with the Arab world as a research and teaching context.

  3. Fulbright Scholar — Morocco 2023–2024

    Field-based research in Ifrane, Rabat, Fez, and across Morocco. Archival work at Mohammed VI Library, AUI. Arabic and Darija study; teaching history at the American Language Center, Rabat. The year grounded the North Africa focus and produced the fieldwork that runs through everything since.

  4. NC State — M.I.S. 2024–2026

    Master of International Studies with a focus on North Africa, postcolonial institutions, and digital history. Graduate Teaching Assistant in Political Science; writing consultant at the Academic Success Center; Huruf La'b co-founder and VenturePack winner ($4,000, April 2026).

  5. Huruf La'b 2025–present

    Co-founder of a tactile Arabic learning startup. Designed and tested a puzzle-based system for early Arabic script literacy; led outreach to 100+ Arabic teachers globally; pitched successfully in NC State's campus-wide venture competition.

  6. Current — Research, Teaching, Writing 2026

    Working on postcolonial African airline history, Western Sahara infrastructure research, and writing coaching. Applying to PhD programs in History. Writing publicly on Substack and through the Historical Method Man channel.

Affiliations

Partner institutions

Programs, universities, and organizations I have worked with as a researcher, teacher, and scholar.

Fieldwork

Morocco, 2023–24

Fieldwork images from the Fulbright year — North Africa as a research site, not just a destination.

The blue medina of Chefchaouen, Morocco — narrow streets and blue-washed buildings.
Chefchaouen — fieldwork site and visual language study.
Mohammed VI Library at Al Akhawayn University, Ifrane, Morocco — the archival research base.
Mohammed VI Library, AUI — primary archival research site.
The Sahara dunes near Merzouga, Morocco, with camels and desert landscape.
Merzouga, Sahara — reading mobility and landscape in the research frame.