A Q&A with Elio Colavito, CDHI Graduate Fellow

Aug 11, 2023

Department of History, U of T | Supervisor: Elspeth Brown

Project Title: Mapping Transtopia: Transmasculine Mutual Aid, Crae, & Community Formation


What are you hoping to learn as a CDHI fellow?

I am hoping to learn from other DH scholars about how to best communicate and share the histories that I am telling so that they can be cherished by the trans communities that need them.  

How did you first learn about digital methods and what attracts you to this kind of research?

I was introduced to digital methods through my work as an oral and public historian in 2020. I think that digital methods are central to making a usable and accessible past available to the communities that these histories belong to, spanning multiple geographies. For many people the internet is the only place to access trans histories, so it’s critical to add to this landscape.  

What digital technologies or research methods do you use in your research?

I use digital archives and ArcGIS Storymaps in my research. 

What is one of your hobbies or something you like to do to unwind?

I play soccer and watch movies!  


Elio Colavito

Elio Colavito (he/they) is a white transmasculine settler, interdisciplinary scholar, and PhD candidate in the Department of History with a collaborative specialization in Sexual Diversity Studies at the University of Toronto. His research centers transmasculine histories of care, mutual aid, and community formation in 20th-century Canada and the United States. Their passion lies in making a usable past accessible to trans communities. 

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