University of Toronto professor Natalie Zemon Davis has won the Holberg International Memorial Prize, a prestigious international award for work in the humanities. Awarded by the Norwegian parliament and worth about $785,000 the prize brings international recognition to the University's "arts, social science and humanities faculties". This year mark the second year in a row the award has gone to an academic from the University of Toronto.
"Toronto historian Natalie Zemon Davis was named yesterday as the recipient of the Holberg International Memorial Prize � awarded by the Norwegian parliament and worth about $785,000."
"U of T president David Naylor said the international recognition is a "fantastic boost" to the school's arts, social science and humanities faculties, and validates a continued focus on areas of studies that have suffered a decline in public funding and support".
"How we understand each other on this troubled planet is way more important to our children's future than the latest digital gadget," he said in an e-mail. "We simply don't believe Canada � or our university � can thrive without academic strength and a sustained investment in the humanities and social sciences."
"Dr. Davis, who is also a professor emerita at Princeton University, is considered a pioneer of social history and has a long record of political activism in civil and women's rights."
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