Joanna E. Dean

Joanna E. Dean is a Professor of Environmental History at Carleton University, specializing in the intersection of human and non-human histories. She is currently on sabbatical completing a book on Parliament Hill's urban forest and co-edits the journal Animal History. Her research spans animal history, urban ecology, and gender studies, with notable work on the Connaught Laboratories, Greenpeace antiwhaling protests, and Marshall McLuhan’s ‘urban forest’ concept.

Education:

• B.A. (Queen’s University)
• M.A. (Carleton University)
• Ph.D. (Carleton University)

Research Interests:

• Urban forestry and socio-ecological justice
• Animal-Human interactions in historical contexts
• Gender analysis in environmental movements
• Methodological innovations in historical research (e.g., geospatial analysis of historical aerial imagery)

Teaching & Academic Leadership:

• Founder of Animal History journal (launching 2025)
• Core faculty for Carleton’s Environmental and Climate Humanities (EACH) program
• Co-developed the Beastly Histories lecture series and edited Animal Metropolis (2017)

Advising & Collaborations:

• Supervised over 20 graduate/undergraduate research projects at Carleton
• Collaborated with museums like the Bytown Museum (2012 urban forest exhibit)
• Co-organized the 2023 Climate History lecture series