Gail Vanstone
Associate Professor
Office: Vanier College, 223
Phone: 416-736-2100 Ext: 33957
Email: gailv@yorku.ca
Professor Gail Vanstone is an Associate Professor in the Division of Humanities. Her ongoing research frames women and the stories they tell as powerful critical tools for understanding women’s experience in a world where their voices are often suppressed. She intend to continue to develop this research, applying it to other subjects she is investigating.
Professor Gail Vanstone research agenda grows out of themes explored in her book, D is For Daring, the first-ever feminist historical analysis of Studio D, the women’s film unit (1974 to 1996) in the National Film Board. Her ongoing research frames women and the stories they tell as powerful critical tools for understanding women’s experience in a world where their voices are often suppressed. Her aim is to flesh out the work established by her book on this very Canadian, artistic, cultural venture. Her book argues that the excavation of women’s stories creates an authentic witness, documenting and shedding light on the nature of their struggles and triumphs. Such stories are vital to understanding particular periods of time, since a study of women’s contributions to any field inevitably encourages a reconfiguring of that field.
For the past several years she has taught AP/CLTR 1953 6.0 Canadian Writers in Person and has filmed readings to preserve a scholarly and cultural record and worked with a graduate student to create an interactive data based film and digital archive as an on-going resource. She intend to continue to develop this research, applying it to other subjects she is investigating.
Degrees
PhD in Social and Political Thought, York UniversityMA in Interdisciplinary Studies, York University
BA Combined Honours, York University
Diplôme Supérieur, Université Paul Valéry
Research Interests
Current Research Projects
Junior Faculty Fund (York University)
Standard Research (SSHRC)
Junior Faculty Fund (York University)
Workshop/Conference (SSHRC)
D is for Daring: the Women Behind the Films of Studio D. Toronto: Sumach Press, 2007.
'The Lady Vanishes: Alice Guy Blaché and Marquise Lepage.' Women and the Silent Cinema. Cambridge: Cambridge UP and U Guadalajara, 2010.
''I Wanted to Say How Beautiful We Are': Cultural Politics in Loretta Todd’s Hands of History.' Reverse Shot: Indigenous Film and Media in an International Context. Ed. Wendy Pearson and Susan Knabe. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2009.
'Studio D of the NFB: Canada’s Official Feminist Eye.' Gendered Intersections: An Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies. Ed. Lesley Biggs and Susan Gringell. 2nd ed. Toronto: Fernwood Press, 2010. Forthcoming.
'Léopold L. Foulem: Transgressor and Provocateur.' Cahiers métiers d’art/ Craft Journal. Forthcoming.
'Auto/reflection.' Autobiographies (Feminisms in Canada and Quebec, 1960-2010 series). Ed. Marguerite Anderson. Ottowa: University of Ottawa, 2010. Forthcoming.
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2023 | AP/CLTR1953 6.0 | A | Canadian Writers in Person | ONLN |
Professor Gail Vanstone is an Associate Professor in the Division of Humanities. Her ongoing research frames women and the stories they tell as powerful critical tools for understanding women’s experience in a world where their voices are often suppressed. She intend to continue to develop this research, applying it to other subjects she is investigating.
Professor Gail Vanstone research agenda grows out of themes explored in her book, D is For Daring, the first-ever feminist historical analysis of Studio D, the women’s film unit (1974 to 1996) in the National Film Board. Her ongoing research frames women and the stories they tell as powerful critical tools for understanding women’s experience in a world where their voices are often suppressed. Her aim is to flesh out the work established by her book on this very Canadian, artistic, cultural venture. Her book argues that the excavation of women’s stories creates an authentic witness, documenting and shedding light on the nature of their struggles and triumphs. Such stories are vital to understanding particular periods of time, since a study of women’s contributions to any field inevitably encourages a reconfiguring of that field.
For the past several years she has taught AP/CLTR 1953 6.0 Canadian Writers in Person and has filmed readings to preserve a scholarly and cultural record and worked with a graduate student to create an interactive data based film and digital archive as an on-going resource. She intend to continue to develop this research, applying it to other subjects she is investigating.
Degrees
PhD in Social and Political Thought, York UniversityMA in Interdisciplinary Studies, York University
BA Combined Honours, York University
Diplôme Supérieur, Université Paul Valéry
Research Interests
Current Research Projects
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Junior Faculty Fund (York University)
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Standard Research (SSHRC)
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Junior Faculty Fund (York University)
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Workshop/Conference (SSHRC)
All Publications
'The Lady Vanishes: Alice Guy Blaché and Marquise Lepage.' Women and the Silent Cinema. Cambridge: Cambridge UP and U Guadalajara, 2010.
''I Wanted to Say How Beautiful We Are': Cultural Politics in Loretta Todd’s Hands of History.' Reverse Shot: Indigenous Film and Media in an International Context. Ed. Wendy Pearson and Susan Knabe. Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2009.
D is for Daring: the Women Behind the Films of Studio D. Toronto: Sumach Press, 2007.
'Studio D of the NFB: Canada’s Official Feminist Eye.' Gendered Intersections: An Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies. Ed. Lesley Biggs and Susan Gringell. 2nd ed. Toronto: Fernwood Press, 2010. Forthcoming.
'Léopold L. Foulem: Transgressor and Provocateur.' Cahiers métiers d’art/ Craft Journal. Forthcoming.
'Auto/reflection.' Autobiographies (Feminisms in Canada and Quebec, 1960-2010 series). Ed. Marguerite Anderson. Ottowa: University of Ottawa, 2010. Forthcoming.
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2023 | AP/CLTR1953 6.0 | A | Canadian Writers in Person | ONLN |
