Jaipreet Virdi is an assistant professor of history and the co-director of the Hagley Program in the History of Capitalism, Technology and Culture at the University of Delaware. She teaches courses on disability histories, the history of medicine, and health activism. Deaf since the age of 6, she researches the ways medicine and technology impact the lived experiences of disabled people. 

Her first book, Hearing Happiness: Deafness Cures in History (2020), examines deafness in American society and the history of deafness “cures.” It won the 2021 Hughes Prize from the British Society for History of Science for best popular book. In 2020, Virdi created a Twitter series, #DeafHistorySeries, to spotlight deaf and hard-of-hearing people, technologies and events; one of the episodes was adapted for a segment for CBC radio. 

Virdi uses her platform to raise awareness of medical inequities, social injustice and disability rights. Her writing on medical technologies, hearing aids and disability design has appeared in Aeon+Psyche, Slate, Bitch Media and The Atlantic, among other outlets. She has appeared on several podcasts, including Science Friday and Lady Science.

Virdi received her bachelor’s in the philosophy of science from York University. She received her master’s in the history and philosophy of science and technology and her Ph.D. in the history of science, technology and medicine from the University of Toronto.

Courtesy of Max Planck Alumni Association

Pronouns: She/her

Expertise: Medical technology, deafness, hearing aids, disability design

Location: Newark, Del. 

Access Request: Captions are required for virtual interviews (Google Meet is preferred)

Email: jvirdi@udel.edu 

Twitter: @jaivirdi

Heard on Peoples & Things: “Jaipreet Virdi on Hearing Happiness”