Bates Center Seminar Series

During the academic year, the Bates Center hosts prominent scholars from around the globe to present new historical scholarship in its seminar series. Seminars are held on Wednesdays at 4:00pm.

DR. JAIPREET VIRDI

An award-winning historian whose research focuses on the ways medicine and technology impact the lived experiences of disabled people.

Born in Kuwait to Sikh parents, Dr. Virdi lost her hearing at age four to bacterial meningitis. By age six, her working-class family immigrated to Toronto, Ontario, where she would later attend a school for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. A product of “mainstreamed” education, Dr. Virdi learned to communicate through lip-reading and her hearing aids. Years of navigation within deaf/hearing spaces, along with working in retail marketing and fashion merchandising have influenced how she analyzes people’s relationships with their technologies. Her experiences with stage IV endometriosis and ovarian cancer have also shaped her advocacy for accessible healthcare.

Dr. Virdi is an Organization of American Historians (OAH) Distinguished Lecturer.

To learn more about her work, check out her website here!