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David John Wright

Academic title(s): 

Professor of History & Canada Research Chair in the History of Health Policy

David John Wright
Contact Information
Email address: 
david.j.wright [at] mcgill.ca
Degree(s): 

D.Phil. (Oxford)
B.A., M.A. (McGill)

Department: 
Equity, Ethics and Policy
History and Classical Studies
Office hours: 

By appointment

Biography: 

David Wright received his BA and MA in History from Ï㽶ÊÓƵ and his DPhil (in History) from the University of Oxford. As a post-doctoral research fellow at Oxford he specialized in the history of health and medicine before being appointed Wellcome Trust Lecturer in the History of Medicine at the University of Nottingham (1996-99). In 1999, David returned to Canada to become the Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine at McMaster University, a cross-appointment between the medical school and the History department.  During his eleven years at McMaster, David was active in several administrative capacities, including Chair of the international Society for the Social History of Medicine (SSHM), Associate Dean (Vice-Dean) of the Faculty of Humanities, and Chair of McMaster’s University Curriculum Committee.

David joined the Department of History and Classical Studies (in 2011) as Professor of History, cross-appointed to the Institute for Health and Social Policy, Faculty of Medicine (now the Department of Equity, Ethics and Policy). He has two areas of research interest. For most of the past twenty years, he has researched and published on the history of mental disorders (with a particular expertise in the history of mental hospitals), resulting in several books and edited volumes. More recently, he has led a research team investigating the transnational migration of physicians in the second half of the twentieth century. He welcomes all expressions of interest from graduate students and post-doctoral applicants as he assembles an interdisciplinary research team spanning both Faculties.

Research areas: 
History of Health and Medicine
Mental Health
Graduate supervision: 

social history of health and medicine; history of public health; history of medical institutions; history of madness and psychiatry, globalization of health human resources; history of global health initiatives

Book images: 
Doctors Beyond Borders: The Transnational Migration of Physicians in the Twentieth Century
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