New Student Member Feature: Precious Gauthier

Precious is a recent graduate of the University of Winnipeg with a BA and a BSc. She is currently a master's Student in the Cultural Studies: Text and Cultures program and works as a Research Assistant with Dr. Angela Failler for the Centre for Research in Cultural Studies. Her scholarly interests are focused on the experiences, inequalities and disparities in Black and Indigenous communities and the histories of Black people in Canada, specifically but not limited to exploring Black enslavement and mobility in central Canada. This is inspired by the knowledge that her family and a large number of other Black families travelled from Oklahoma and Tennessee North into the Canadian prairies and settled primarily in North Battleford, Alberta and Maidstone, Saskatchewan. She works with several non-profit organizations and enjoys creative writing in her downtime. One of her short stories will be published in Juice Volume 22, and her poetry was published in Auroras and Blossoms 2023 Haiku Anthology.

Learn more about Precious in the short interview below:

CRiCS: What brought you to academia and, more specifically, Cultural Studies?

PG: I took time off from work to focus on being a parent, and when I started looking for jobs in my field, everything required a degree. So, I made the decision to begin a degree in Biology, which to complete required a few humanities courses. After taking a few English courses, I realized I needed to change my focus. In my second term at the university, I took Postcolonial Lit with Dr. Anyaduba, and his course opened the door to concepts that I personally experienced but through an academic lens. The following year, I took Writing for Scholarly Audiences with Dr. Buettner and realized I could write academically about the issues I am passionate about. Then, taking Rhetorical Criticism with Dr. McGillivray brought me to decide on Cultural Studies. His course taught me how to discuss and analyze artifacts informed by theory and intersecting frameworks.

CRiCS: What are your areas of research interest?

PG: My primary area of research interest is Black Canadian histories, specifically surrounding migration to the prairies and related to eastern Canada. I also have a strong interest in medical disparities related to Black and Indigenous people.

CRiCS: What do you hope to gain from your time in Cultural Studies and as a student member of CRiCS

PG: I hope to gain different perspectives on cultural studies. My perspective is, of course, completely influenced by my lived experiences, and I think Cultural Studies will make me a stronger researcher who understands disparities among others and will help me develop a better understanding of the many topics that fall under cultural studies.

CRiCS: What has been one of your most meaningful research encounters?

PG: I am grateful that this University has so many amazing professors. I don’t think I can focus on one encounter because I have taken such valuable lessons from many different professors from many different faculties, spanning English, Anthropology, History, Disability Studies, Rhetoric and Biology. However, I do want to say that one of my favourite things at the university is the various talks and teach-ins that are available to students. It allows us to keep up with what's going on in different areas of research.

CRiCS: Has any particular book/film/work of art/etc. influenced your approach to your academic work and your perspective more generally?

PG: For my personal writing, I am inspired by many authors, but Maya Angelou has a stronghold on me because of how she so effortlessly shows real life in her works and her words, which were so powerful every time I heard her speak. But for my academic approach, I have to say Claudia Rankine because growing up in Winnipeg, I did not see my experiences as something that others collectively had, and after reading Citizen, I realized that while my experiences are my own, there are also many people who have traumas that align very closely with mine as well.

CRiCS: What do you do in your free time (if you have any!)? Do you have any hobbies or pets?

PG: I don’t have a lot of free time, but when I do, I spend it with my family. I have an amazing kid that I love hanging out with. I also love writing poetry and short stories, and I would have to say collecting puzzles because I don't really have time to put them together these days.