Early Life and Education
Selma Botman grew up in Chelsea, Massachusetts, which she describes as a "very poor city". Her father worked in a shoe factory and his education ended at grade eight. Her mother graduated from high school but never moved on to college. Both of them encouraged their children, Selma and her two brothers, to get degrees. In the end, all of the siblings reached the level of PhD. According to Botman, "My parents promoted the importance of education, and they just expected their children would be smart."
Botman received a B.A. in psychology from Brandeis University even though she says she had no interest in the field. Instead she says she thought psychology would help her figure out who she was, which she spent her time as an undergraduate doing. At this time she developed an interest in the Middle East but believed it was too late to change majors and thus stayed with psychology until graduation.
After graduation she went to Oxford University where she got a B.Phil. in Middle Eastern Studies. On returning to the US she married Thomas Birmingham, her sweetheart from high school, and attended Harvard University where she earned an A.M. in Middle Eastern Studies and a Ph.D. in History and Middle Eastern Studies.
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