Chair in Transgender Studies

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Call for Proposals!

The Call for Proposals is NOW OPEN for the Moving Trans History Forward 2018 conference!  Apply today!  

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Kent Monkman

Moving Trans History Forward 2018 conference keynote - "Trans as the New Frontier"

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Transgender Archives

Since 2007, the UVic Archives have been actively acquiring documents, rare publications, and memorabilia of persons and organizations associated with transgender activism.

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Chair in Transgender Studies

We aim to act as a catalyst to motivate and support academic and community-based scholars, advanced students, trans, gender non-binary, and two-spirit activists, and thought leaders to work together to enhance the lives of trans, gender non-binary, and two-spirit people.

Our work is fostering research and scholarship in Transgender Studies

  • Encouraging both existing and new scholars to pursue careers in Transgender Studies and building local, national and international linkages with others working in Transgender Studies
  • Hosting visiting academic and community scholars
  • Proactive community outreach and knowledge mobilization
  • Teaching and mentoring related to the area of Transgender Studies
  • Assisting faculty to integrate Transgender Studies content into their courses
  • Academic Director of the Transgender Archives
  • Fundraising in support of the Chair in Transgender Studies and the Transgender Archives

Visiting scholars

kai burst

Academic and community-based scholar visit with us throughout the year. Many of them have come to make use of the Transgender Archives.

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Moving Trans History Forward

Join community activists, academic, artists, and allies from around the globe for the 3rd MTHF conference -- the largest of its kind in Canada!

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Public events

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The Chair in Transgender Studies holds a variety of public events, including guest speakers, social and arts events, and honorary degrees!

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A donation by the Tawani Foundation, founded and led by Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer N. Pritzker, US Army (Retired), supports the inaugural chair in UVic’s Faculty of Social Sciences for five years.

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Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives at UVic

Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives at UVic

11 hours ago

There are still many parts of the world where people are forced to undergo surgeries and mental diagnoses that they don't want, just so that they can change their gender markers on their ID

Eastern Europe's transgender community...
In order to legally change their gender in Eastern Europe, many trans people are subjected to mandatory sterilization and a mental illness diagnosis.

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Opening Ceremony: Moving Trans History Forward 2016
Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities - Sharing Connections conference took place at the University of Victoria March 17-20, 2016. Trans and gender non-conforming (GNC) community-based scholars and activists, academics, archivists, librarians, family members, and allies of trans and GNC people will explore preserving and recounting the history of trans and GNC people and communities in all eras and regions of the world. Opening Ceremony: Madison Thomas: Transperson from the Esquimalt Nation Shelagh Rogers: Chancellor, University of Victoria Aaron Devor: Chair in Transgender Studies, Founder and Academic Director, The Transgender Archives Randall Garrison: Member of Parliament, Esquimalt — Saanich — Sooke Twitter: @TransArchives Facebook: UVicTransArchives Instagram: TransArchives YouTube: Transgender Archives Flickr: Transgender Archives @ UVic Sponsored by the Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives and UVic. Video production & editing provided by Anna Malkin -- thank you!
Martine Rothblatt: Moving Trans History Forward 2016 Keynote
Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities - Sharing Connections conference took place at the University of Victoria March 17-20, 2016. Events included: inspiring keynote speakers Martine Rothblatt and Jamison Green, oral presentations, posters, workshops, art exhibits, feature-length trans-themed film Two4One, and panel discussion with founders of trans activism and research. Martine Rothblatt Co-CEO United Therapeutics Keynote speaker Martine Rothblatt, PhD, Co-CEO of United Therapeutics, delivered a virtual keynote address based on her books From Transgender to Transhuman and Virtually Human and Virtually Human: The Promise—and the Peril—of Digital Immortality in which she lays out her vision for a future in which gender dimorphism becomes obsolete, human bodies become optional, and human consciousness has the potential to become immortal through advancements in artificial intelligence. The title of her talk is "From Transgender to Transhuman to Virtually Human." Rothblatt is a tremendously innovative and accomplished trans woman who has a stellar record of creating new advances that have enhanced the lives of people around the globe. She created Geostar satellite navigation, Sirius satellite radio, and United Therapeutics, which saves the lives of lung-disease sufferers and is working to create a limitless supply of organs for transplants. Introduction: Dr. Aaron Devor, Chair in Transgender Studies, Founder and Academic Director, The Transgender Archives Moving Trans History Forward: http://www.uvic.ca/mthf2016/index.php The Transgender Archives: http://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/ Chair in Transgender Studies: http://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/
Jamison Green: Moving Trans History Forward 2016 - Keynote
Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities - Sharing Connections conference took place at the University of Victoria March 17-20, 2016. Trans and gender non-conforming (GNC) community-based scholars and activists, academics, archivists, librarians, family members, and allies of trans and GNC people will explore preserving and recounting the history of trans and GNC people and communities in all eras and regions of the world. Keynote Speaker Jamison Green, President of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) speaks on Triumphs and Challenges for Transgender People around the World. Green is internationally known as a leader in transgender health, policy, law, and education. Author of the prize-winning book Becoming a Visible Man, he led FTM International 1991 to 1999. He has served on Boards of numerous trans* organizations and has appeared in over a dozen educational documentary films. His policy work has impacted governments and businesses throughout the world. He is one of the most widely-recognized trans* men in the world today. Twitter: @TransArchives Facebook: UVicTransArchives Instagram: TransArchives YouTube: Transgender Archives Flickr: Transgender Archives @ UVic Sponsored by the Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives and UVic. Video production & editing provided by Anna Malkin -- thank you!
Jamie Lee Hamilton: Moving Trans History Forward 2016 - Founders Panel
Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities - Sharing Connections conference took place at the University of Victoria March 17-20, 2016. Trans and gender non-conforming (GNC) community-based scholars and activists, academics, archivists, librarians, family members, and allies of trans and GNC people will explore preserving and recounting the history of trans and GNC people and communities in all eras and regions of the world. Jamie Lee Hamilton will draw upon her more than 40 years of service in trans* communities as a Canadian politician, an advocate of aboriginal people, residents of Vancouver’s poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside, and sex trade workers. When she ran for Vancouver City Council in 1996, she was the first openly transgender person ever to run for political office in Canada. Hamilton currently serves on the board of the Greater Vancouver Native Cultural Society Twitter: @TransArchives Facebook: UVicTransArchives Instagram: TransArchives YouTube: Transgender Archives Flickr: Transgender Archives @ UVic Sponsored by the Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives and UVic. Video production & editing provided by Anna Malkin -- thank you!

See more videos from the Transgender Archive Videos playlist on YouTube.

Rikki Swin

See more from the Transgender Archives on Flickr.

Moving Trans History Forward 2018

Kent Monkman MTHF18 Keynote
WEBSITE: http://www.uvic.ca/mthf2018/ KENT MONKMAN CONFERENCE KEYNOTE: "TRANS AS THE NEW FRONTIER" MOVING TRANS HISTORY FORWARD MARCH 22-25, 2018 The Moving Trans History Forward Conference is proud to announce that Kent Monkman will deliver our Saturday evening keynote address, “Trans as the New Frontier.” This event is also open to the public (entrance by donation). WHEN: Saturday evening, March 24th, 2018. WHERE: David Lam Auditorium UVic HOW MUCH: FREE for all conference registrants. Open to the public by donation. Kent Monkman uses brilliant artistic talents and a sharp wit to explore indigenous and anti-colonialist perspectives on Canada's History. Monkman is a Canadian Two-Spirit artist of Cree ancestry who works in painting, film/video, performance, and installation. Monkman has had solo and group exhibitions and performances at numerous prestigious Canadian and international museums, festivals, galleries, and other venues. Monkman's works are exhibited in important collections including the National Gallery of Canada and the Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian, among others. Conference registration will open January 2018. Call for Papers will be announced shortly. Please consider attending and submitting a proposal.

See more videos from the Moving Trans History Forward 2018 playlist on YouTube.

Speakers

Kate Bornstein @ UVic: "On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us"
Website: uvic.ca/transchair "On Men, Women and the Rest of Us" Saturday, October 21st, 2017, 7:30pm. Hickman Building 105 - UVic Entrance by donation: Suggested $20 at door. No one will be turned away for lack of funds! All donations will be matched by the Tawani Foundation. Check out our Facebook event and tell us you're coming! Ways to give: Cash (preferred), credit card (Visa/MC/AE), cheques made out to "University of Victoria" with memo "Chair in Transgender Studies." $50 donation or more: Help to subsidize those who cannot pay. Includes an intimate pre-show Green Room reception with Kate (6:30-7:00pm Hickman Building 110). All donations will be matched by the Tawani Foundation. RSVP to transchair@uvic.ca. Your donation is welcome at the door or you can donate now (your emailed receipt is your ticket to the reception). Come spend a cosy evening with your very own Auntie Kate, who promises you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll gasp out loud as she speaks about the last thirty years of her life as a nonbinary identified queer trans dyke. This is an evening of her most favorite heartwarming anecdotes, touching and sometimes painful personal trials and tribulations, and inspiring tales of putting the world to rights. Her performance is at once deeply personal and universally acceptable, weaving together stand-up comedy, theatrical monologues, and heart-to-heart storytelling to convey the experience of her long, rich nonbinary trans life. And just to show how much she loves you, every audience member will leave the theater with the gift of a Get Out of Hell Free card.
Elias Capello: Speaker Series - Chair in Transgender Studies UVic
Elias Capello – Chair in Transgender Studies Research Fellow http://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/what-we-do/events/speakers/index.php July 18th, 2017 @ The University of Victoria "DIY (Do-It-Yourself) Trans on the Bayou" The talk will discuss and analyze the narratives from interview data of 11 transgender people from Louisiana. In particular, I will discuss the idea of "self-made identities" and how they are culturally and socially influenced by local economic and medical politics. Elias is a medical anthropologist who is examining materials in the Transgender Archives to better understand the linguistic patterns of how transgender people disseminate knowledge about their bodies and health. The linguistic patterns of how transgender people communicate about their bodies will be compared with the research papers in the archives. Elias focuses on themes of embodiment, dissemination of knowledge about bodies, health, and resilience.

See more videos from the Speakers playlist on YouTube.

Moving Trans History Forward 2016

Opening Ceremony: Moving Trans History Forward 2016
Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities - Sharing Connections conference took place at the University of Victoria March 17-20, 2016. Trans and gender non-conforming (GNC) community-based scholars and activists, academics, archivists, librarians, family members, and allies of trans and GNC people will explore preserving and recounting the history of trans and GNC people and communities in all eras and regions of the world. Opening Ceremony: Madison Thomas: Transperson from the Esquimalt Nation Shelagh Rogers: Chancellor, University of Victoria Aaron Devor: Chair in Transgender Studies, Founder and Academic Director, The Transgender Archives Randall Garrison: Member of Parliament, Esquimalt — Saanich — Sooke Twitter: @TransArchives Facebook: UVicTransArchives Instagram: TransArchives YouTube: Transgender Archives Flickr: Transgender Archives @ UVic Sponsored by the Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives and UVic. Video production & editing provided by Anna Malkin -- thank you!
Martine Rothblatt: Moving Trans History Forward 2016 Keynote
Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities - Sharing Connections conference took place at the University of Victoria March 17-20, 2016. Events included: inspiring keynote speakers Martine Rothblatt and Jamison Green, oral presentations, posters, workshops, art exhibits, feature-length trans-themed film Two4One, and panel discussion with founders of trans activism and research. Martine Rothblatt Co-CEO United Therapeutics Keynote speaker Martine Rothblatt, PhD, Co-CEO of United Therapeutics, delivered a virtual keynote address based on her books From Transgender to Transhuman and Virtually Human and Virtually Human: The Promise—and the Peril—of Digital Immortality in which she lays out her vision for a future in which gender dimorphism becomes obsolete, human bodies become optional, and human consciousness has the potential to become immortal through advancements in artificial intelligence. The title of her talk is "From Transgender to Transhuman to Virtually Human." Rothblatt is a tremendously innovative and accomplished trans woman who has a stellar record of creating new advances that have enhanced the lives of people around the globe. She created Geostar satellite navigation, Sirius satellite radio, and United Therapeutics, which saves the lives of lung-disease sufferers and is working to create a limitless supply of organs for transplants. Introduction: Dr. Aaron Devor, Chair in Transgender Studies, Founder and Academic Director, The Transgender Archives Moving Trans History Forward: http://www.uvic.ca/mthf2016/index.php The Transgender Archives: http://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/ Chair in Transgender Studies: http://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/
Jamison Green: Moving Trans History Forward 2016 - Keynote
Moving Trans History Forward: Building Communities - Sharing Connections conference took place at the University of Victoria March 17-20, 2016. Trans and gender non-conforming (GNC) community-based scholars and activists, academics, archivists, librarians, family members, and allies of trans and GNC people will explore preserving and recounting the history of trans and GNC people and communities in all eras and regions of the world. Keynote Speaker Jamison Green, President of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) speaks on Triumphs and Challenges for Transgender People around the World. Green is internationally known as a leader in transgender health, policy, law, and education. Author of the prize-winning book Becoming a Visible Man, he led FTM International 1991 to 1999. He has served on Boards of numerous trans* organizations and has appeared in over a dozen educational documentary films. His policy work has impacted governments and businesses throughout the world. He is one of the most widely-recognized trans* men in the world today. Twitter: @TransArchives Facebook: UVicTransArchives Instagram: TransArchives YouTube: Transgender Archives Flickr: Transgender Archives @ UVic Sponsored by the Chair in Transgender Studies & The Transgender Archives and UVic. Video production & editing provided by Anna Malkin -- thank you!

See more videos from the Moving Trans History Forward 2016 playlist on YouTube.

Moving Trans History Forward 2014

See more videos from the Moving Trans* History Forward 2014 playlist on YouTube.

YouTube videos

See more videos from the YouTube Videos playlist on YouTube.

Chair in Transgender Studies

Faces of UVic Research: Aaron Devor
Dr. Aaron Devor is the founder and Director of the Transgender Archives at the University of Victoria as well a professor with the Department of Sociology in the Faculty of Social Sciences. In this video, Aaron discusses his work on the history and quality of care for transgender people. To learn more: Faces of UVic research: https://www.youtube.com/facesofuvicresearch UVic's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/Uvic UVic research: http://www.uvic.ca/research UVic: http://www.uvic.ca/

See more videos from the Chair in Transgender Studies playlist on YouTube.

Lynn Conway - Hon. Doctor of Engineering

Lynn Conway UVic Convocation Nov. 9, 2016
Visit our website to download the convocation speech with live links: http://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/what-we-do/events/index.php Lynn Conway received an Honorary Doctor of Engineering from the University of Victoria, Nov. 9th, 2016. Lynn is a computer scientist and engineer who helped to pioneer modern information technology and is a leading advocate for transgender rights. Conway did foundational research in computer architecture at IBM in the 1960s. The company fired her in 1968 as she underwent gender transition and she had to rebuild her career in “stealth” in a new name and identity. A decade later she was teaching at MIT, co-authoring with Carver Mead the foundational engineering textbook, Introduction to VLSI Systems, innovating an Internet e-commerce system for rapid silicon-chip prototyping that led to today’s industrial models for microelectronics design and production, and receiving many high honors for that work. Conway came out upon retirement in 1999 as emerita professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan. A tireless voice for trans people, she was included in Time magazine’s 2014 list of 25 transgender people who have influenced American culture. Twitter: @TransArchives Facebook: UVicTransArchives Instagram: TransArchives YouTube: Transgender Archives Flickr: Transgender Archives @ UVic
Lynn Conway "Our Travels Through Techno-Social Space-Time" @ UVic - Nov. 9, 2016
Visit our website to download the presentation slides with live links: http://www.uvic.ca/research/transchair/what-we-do/events/index.php Lynn Conway received an Honorary Doctor of Engineering from the University of Victoria, Nov. 9th, 2016. Lynn is a computer scientist and engineer who helped to pioneer modern information technology and is a leading advocate for transgender rights. Public Talk: "Our Travels Through Techno-Social Space-Time: Envisioning Incoming Waves of Technological Innovation" Presented in partnership with the Faculty of Engineering and the Chair in Transgender Studies. How can we visualize our life-journeys through an ever-more rapidly-changing techno-social landscape? How did the processes of social-change begin speeding-up in the first place? Where are we headed as we enter the looming techno-social age? These questions are on ever-more minds all around the world. For some insights we reflect on, and then follow, these words of wisdom from Winston Churchill: “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you can see.” Conway did foundational research in computer architecture at IBM in the 1960s. The company fired her in 1968 as she underwent gender transition and she had to rebuild her career in “stealth” in a new name and identity. A decade later she was teaching at MIT, co-authoring with Carver Mead the foundational engineering textbook, Introduction to VLSI Systems, innovating an Internet e-commerce system for rapid silicon-chip prototyping that led to today’s industrial models for microelectronics design and production, and receiving many high honors for that work. Conway came out upon retirement in 1999 as emerita professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan. A tireless voice for trans people, she was included in Time magazine’s 2014 list of 25 transgender people who have influenced American culture. Twitter: @TransArchives Facebook: UVicTransArchives Instagram: TransArchives YouTube: Transgender Archives Flickr: Transgender Archives @ UVic
Lynn Conway "An Invisible Woman" @ GVPL Nov. 10th, 2016
Visit our website to download the presentation slides with live links: http://www.uvic.ca/research/transchai... Lynn Conway received an Honorary Doctor of Engineering from the University of Victoria, Nov. 9th, 2016. Lynn is a computer scientist and engineer who helped to pioneer modern information technology and is a leading advocate for transgender rights. Public Talk: "An Invisible Woman: The Inside Story Behind the Microelectronic Computing Revolution in Silicon Valley" Presented in partnership with the Chair in Transgender Studies, the Faculty of Engineering, and the Greater Victoria Public Library. In 2015 Megan Smith, Chief Technology Officer of the United States, raised profound questions about women’s contributions in science, engineering and math being erased from history. In this talk we explore a case study of such erasure, and surface a very counter-intuitive conjecture about the underlying causes and effects. Conway did foundational research in computer architecture at IBM in the 1960s. The company fired her in 1968 as she underwent gender transition and she had to rebuild her career in “stealth” in a new name and identity. A decade later she was teaching at MIT, co-authoring with Carver Mead the foundational engineering textbook, Introduction to VLSI Systems, innovating an Internet e-commerce system for rapid silicon-chip prototyping that led to today’s industrial models for microelectronics design and production, and receiving many high honors for that work. Conway came out upon retirement in 1999 as emerita professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan. A tireless voice for trans people, she was included in Time magazine’s 2014 list of 25 transgender people who have influenced American culture. Twitter: @TransArchives Facebook: UVicTransArchives Instagram: TransArchives YouTube: Transgender Archives Flickr: Transgender Archives @ UVic

See more videos from the Lynn Conway - Hon. Doctor of Engineering UVic playlist on YouTube.