Patricia Demers
Encyclopedia
Patricia A. Demers, FRSC
is a Canadian
humanist
and academic. She was the first female president of the Royal Society of Canada
serving from 2005 to 2007.
Demers grew up in Hamilton, Ontario
and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and French and a Master of Arts degree from McMaster University
. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa
. After receiving her Ph.D. she taught for three years as a sessional instructor at the University of Alberta
. She then became an assistant professor and is now a professor of English and Film Studies. Her research includes Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, 17th-century poetry, children's literature, and contemporary Canadian women's writing.
From 1991 to 1993, she was Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and from 1995 to 1998 she was Department Chair. From 1998 to 2002, she was Vice-President of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She was made a Fellow of Royal Society of Canada in 2000 and served as its first female president from 2005 to 2007.
She was awarded the University of Alberta Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Arts Faculty Teaching Award, the McCalla Research Professorship Award, and the University Cup.
She is the author of A Garland from the Golden Age: An Anthology of Children's Literature from 1850 to 1900 (Oxford University Press, 1983), Women as Interpreters of the Bible (Paulist Press, 1992), Heaven Upon Earth: The Form of Moral and Religious Children's Literature to 1850 (University of Tennessee, 1993), The World of Hannah More (University Press of Kentucky, 1996), and Women's Writing in English: Early Modern England (University of Toronto Press, 2005)
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
and academic. She was the first female president of the Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada , may also operate under the more descriptive name RSC: The Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada , is the oldest association of scientists and scholars in Canada...
serving from 2005 to 2007.
Demers grew up in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and French and a Master of Arts degree from McMaster University
McMaster University
McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...
. She received a Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is a bilingual, research-intensive, non-denominational, international university in Ottawa, Ontario. It is one of the oldest universities in Canada. It was originally established as the College of Bytown in 1848 by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate...
. After receiving her Ph.D. she taught for three years as a sessional instructor at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. She then became an assistant professor and is now a professor of English and Film Studies. Her research includes Elizabethan and Jacobean drama, 17th-century poetry, children's literature, and contemporary Canadian women's writing.
From 1991 to 1993, she was Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and from 1995 to 1998 she was Department Chair. From 1998 to 2002, she was Vice-President of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She was made a Fellow of Royal Society of Canada in 2000 and served as its first female president from 2005 to 2007.
She was awarded the University of Alberta Rutherford Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Arts Faculty Teaching Award, the McCalla Research Professorship Award, and the University Cup.
She is the author of A Garland from the Golden Age: An Anthology of Children's Literature from 1850 to 1900 (Oxford University Press, 1983), Women as Interpreters of the Bible (Paulist Press, 1992), Heaven Upon Earth: The Form of Moral and Religious Children's Literature to 1850 (University of Tennessee, 1993), The World of Hannah More (University Press of Kentucky, 1996), and Women's Writing in English: Early Modern England (University of Toronto Press, 2005)