May Chazan

Dr. May Chazan is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Gender and Feminist Studies at Trent University, based in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies. She is also an executive member of Trent’s Centre for Aging and Society. Her academic background includes a B.Sc. from the University of Waterloo, a B.Ed. from OISE/University of Toronto, and an M.A./Ph.D. from Carleton University.

Her research focuses on Aging Activisms: Storying Resistance, Resurgence, and Resilience, exploring how activists across genders, generations, and backgrounds mobilize for social change. She emphasizes decolonial, feminist, and anti-oppressive methodologies, including intergenerational storytelling workshops and digital activism practices. Key areas include transnational solidarity among grandmothers in South Africa and Canada, and the archiving of activist narratives.

Chazan teaches courses on feminist and decolonial activisms, feminist methodologies, and intersections of gender, race, and class. She supervises graduate students in Canadian/Indigenous Studies and Sustainability Studies, and leads the Aging Activisms research collective, fostering collaborations between scholars, activists, and communities. Her work is supported by the Canada Research Chairs program and SSHRC funding.

Key honors include the Canada Research Chair designation. She has published widely on aging studies, feminist praxis, and global health, including books like The Grandmothers’ Movement: Solidarity and Survival in the Time of AIDS.

Chazan’s research and teaching prioritize community engagement, student mentorship, and methodological innovation, reflecting her commitment to redressing marginalization in narratives of social change.