By Paige Martin
Chandell’s hometown: Sydney, Nova Scotia
Chandell Gosse brings her passion for research and equality to the Media Studies program at Western University
After pursuing her undergraduate and master’s degrees on the east coast, Chandell Gosse decided that she wanted a change of scenery to pursue her PhD.
Originally from Sydney, N.S, Chandell moved to New Brunswick as an undergraduate student to study philosophy and then completed an interdisciplinary master’s degree in Philosophy and Media, Arts and Culture.
With a passion for thinking and learning new things, a PhD seemed like the perfect next step for Chandell, and she knew Western offered exactly what she was looking for.
“I love thinking for the sake of thinking – research is my passion. With my PhD, I get to pursue thought-provoking research on the topics that I am most passionate about.”
Chandell’s research focuses on the online abuse of women. She studies the barriers that women face when they are looking for solutions or help with the online abuse that they have experienced and focuses on how those barriers place limits on women’s participation within the digital public sphere.
Her research has helped her explore the concept of digital duality; the idea that there is a distinction between online life and offline life. Contrary to popular belief that digital duality does exist and that individuals can live a different life on the internet, Chandell believes there is no distinction. “This is one of the barriers that women face online. Everything online is seen as virtual and separate from our lives in the ‘real’ world, but the abuse women experience online is actually very real.”
Outside of her PhD, Chandell has discovered a hobby in a type of Thai kickboxing called Muay Thai. She also volunteers at a local women’s shelter called Anova. Chandell says these extracurricular opportunities have made her a better PhD student as they have given her a deeper appreciation for her research.
While she would love to be a professor in the future, Chandell is also excited to have any type of research-based career. Her sister is also pursuing her PhD at Dalhousie University where she researches about female genital cosmetic surgery as well as domestic homicide. Together, they share a dream that one day they will create their own ‘Think Tank’ platform to pursue their research side-by-side.
—