PhD student, Caroline Trottier-Gascon, One of Concordia's Five New Vanier Scholars

Caroline Trottier-Gascon, PhD student in history, wants to uncover the experiences of trans people in Montreal between 1980 and 2000. Her resulting feminist social history will draw upon both archival research and extensive oral history interviews.

“I want to examine the social forces that contribute to the marginalization of trans communities and how they turn these forces into strategies of resistance and survival,” she says.

Trottier-Gascon is building on the work of her supervisor Peter Gossage, Trottier-Gascon is deeply committed to working in partnership with local LGBT communities.

“The 1980s and 1990s was a very dense period for trans people,” explains Trottier-Gascon.

“Their lives were transformed by the AIDS crisis and new exclusionary policies for identity recognition and access to health care, but also by new community organizations and the rise of the Internet as a space where trans people would share their experiences.”

Part of Trottier-Gascon’s research project will be to produce short videos on her findings. Creating this dynamic public history will help her better engage with the community and share her research in an impactful way. 

Trottier-Gascon is highly involved in activist initiatives in relation to trans issues. For her successful advocacy work, she was awarded Le Prix Honoris du Conseil québécois LGBT in 2015.

“In an ideal world, my project will create more intergenerational understanding within trans communities. It will also create bridges between the university and trans communities, and between trans communities and the wider public.”