
James Walker is Professor of History at the University of Waterloo, where he specializes in the history of human rights and race relations. In 2003-2004, he was the Bora Laskin National Fellow in Human Rights Research, in 2013 he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and in 2016 he became a Member of the Order of Canada. He has written five books and co-edited another, and he has published numerous articles and book chapters analysing campaigns for human rights reform.
In the 1960s he served as a CUSO volunteer with a Gandhian association in India, engaging in community development projects. As a student in Toronto, he participated in the local support group for the US civil rights movement (“Friends of SNCC”), and later as a graduate student in Halifax he was a founder and teacher in the Transition Year Program for African-Canadian and First Nations students at Dalhousie University.
Returning to Ontario, he was a founder and long-time board member of the Global Community Centre of Kitchener-Waterloo, and has served on the boards of several NGOs with an international focus including CUSO and the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute. He is currently working on a book to be entitled “Look Over Jordan: The Canadian Journey Toward Racial Equality.”
Academic / Professional Awards
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Member of the Order of Canada, 2016
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Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, elected 2013.
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Bora Laskin National Fellowship in Human Rights, 2003-2004.
- Professor, History
University of Waterloo
Office: HH 112 (UW)
(519) 888-4567 | Ext. 33706
TOPICS
EDUCATION
- PhD, History, Dalhousie University, 1973
- MA, History, University of Waterloo, 1967
- BA, History, University of Toronto, 1962