Joy Parr (born 1949) is a Canadian historian. Parr is a professor at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

and holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Technology, Culture and Risk. She is known for her work in the fields of

labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and

gender history Gender history is a sub-field of history and gender studies, which looks at the past from the perspective of gender. It is in many ways, an outgrowth of women's history. The discipline considers in what ways historical events and periodization impa ...

as well as the

history of technology The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques and is one of the categories of world history. Technology can refer to methods ranging from as simple as stone tools to the complex genetic engineering and info ...

Career and honours

Parr received her Bachelor of Arts degree from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

in 1971 before moving on to graduate school at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, where she received her PhD in 1977. She has taught at several institutions in both Canada and the United States, including Yale,

Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to: *Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada *Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK **Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950) **Queen's University of Belfast ...

, the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, and Simon Fraser University. Parr has won numerous awards and distinctions over the course of her career. She was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada (FRSC) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Canada judges to have "made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life ...

in 1992, and in 2000 became the first woman to win the Society's prestigious J. B. Tyrell Historical Medal for outstanding work in the history of Canada. She was the recipient of the 1991 Sir John A. Macdonald Prize (now the

CHA Best Scholarly Book in Canadian History Prize The CHA Best Scholarly Book in Canadian History Prize is an annual book prize awarded by the Canadian Historical Association. According to the CHA, the award is for the "non-fiction work of Canadian history judged to have made the most significant c ...

) for the best book in Canadian history from the Canadian Historical Association for her book ''The Gender of Breadwinners'', which also won the Association's 1995

François-Xavier Garneau Medal The ''François-Xavier Garneau Medal'' is a book prize awarded by the Canadian Historical Association. Awarded only every five years since it was first awarded in 1980, the CHA describes the Medal as its "most prestigious" prize, honouring "an out ...

. Her 2010 book ''

Sensing Changes ''Sensing Changes: Technologies, Environments, and the Everyday, 1953–2003'' is a 2010 book by Canadian historian Joy Parr. The book examines the "embodied histories" of Canadians who were affected by Canadian megaprojects in the postwar p ...

'' was awarded both the Canada Prize from the

Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences The Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (french: Fédération canadienne des sciences humaines), also known as the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, is a member-based organization and the national voice for r ...

and the Edelstein Prize from the

Society for the History of Technology The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) is the primary professional society for historians of technology. SHOT was founded in 1958 in the United States, and it has since become an international society with members "from some thirty-five ...

(SHOT). In 2018,

SHOT Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *''Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 fi ...

awarded Parr the Leonardo da Vinci Medal for lifetime achievement, noting that "Parr has played an important role in redefining the field of history of technology internationally, in inspiring a younger generation to engage with the field, and in building a vibrant community in Canada and beyond." Parr is also the namesake for the Joy Parr Envirotech Travel Award from

Selected works

* * * * * * *

References

External links

Departmental page, UWO

Joy Parr's homepage

Mega Projects New Media
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parr, Joy 1949 births Living people 20th-century Canadian historians 21st-century Canadian historians Canadian women historians Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Historians of technology Labor historians McGill University alumni Academic staff of Queen's University at Kingston Academic staff of the University of British Columbia Academic staff of the University of Western Ontario Writers from Toronto Yale University alumni Yale University faculty 20th-century Canadian women writers