Esli Chan
Researcher · PhD Candidate, McGill University · Senior Doctoral Fellow, Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy
Women on the Right: Conservatism in Canada and the US
This is a research project about listening. I’m interested in the political lives of women inside conservative movements in Canada and the United States — how you got involved, what it means to you, and how you talk about gender, family, and belief in spaces that don’t always get to tell their own story.
I’m not here to make a case for or against conservatism. I’m here to listen carefully, ask honest questions, and represent what I hear accurately and in its full complexity.
“Conservatism — on your own terms.”
Share your storyEsli Chan is a PhD Candidate in Political Science (Gender Specialization) at McGill University and a Senior Doctoral Fellow at the Media Ecosystem Observatory within the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, where she researches how gender, technology, and political life intersect in Canada.
Her research treats gender as a lens on political life: how it is mobilized by women’s movements under government pressure, how it is understood and expressed by women inside conservative political spaces, and how it is exploited within online subcultures. Her approach is mixed-methods, predominantly focusing on qualitative discourse analysis, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation. She also works closely with quantitative researchers and data scientists on computational techniques such as claims extraction, topic modelling, and social media trace analysis, bringing a social science lens to teams built around large-scale digital methods.
She engages with the public and the media on gender, technology, and Canadian political life, and was previously a lecturer for the Media and Politics course at McGill University.
Alongside this core research, she maintains active adjacent interests: the impact of AI and social media on youth, international norms and state behaviour in international relations, and international policy responses to gender-based violence.
In her free time, she enjoys travelling and hanging out with her cat, Juniper.
- CURRENTSenior Doctoral Fellow & Incident Response Lead CoordinatorCentre for Media, Technology and Democracy
- CURRENTResearcherPol Comm Tech Lab, University of Ottawa
- PAST ROLELecturerMcGill University, Dept. of Political Science
- CURRENTPhD Candidate, Political ScienceMcGill University
Areas of focus
Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media — with Z. Pehlivan2025Toxic Monetization and Amplification in Digital Platform Design: The Case of Online Gendered Hate
Hate Crime Perpetrators: New Perspectives from Theory, Research, and Practice, Vol. II — Palgrave2022Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence, Hate Speech, and Terrorism: A Risk Assessment on the Rise of the Incel Rebellion in Canada
Violence Against Women, 29(9), 1687–17182026Canadians’ Perspectives on Governing AI Chatbots: A Policy Brief
Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy; Lavigne et al.2025Power Shift: The Rise of Political Influencers in Canada
Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy; Pehlivan et al.
Media and Politics
Media and Politics POLI 424 · Lecturer · McGill University
This upper-year undergraduate course looks at how media systems shape democratic life — platform governance and content moderation, algorithmic amplification, disinformation and influence campaigns, surveillance, and the political economy of attention. I designed and delivered the course, building the course structure, grading scheme, and a set of multimedia projects and interactive case studies, and brought in interdisciplinary guest speakers to connect course material to current events.
Let’s talk research, media, or teaching.
I speak with the public, research groups, and organizations on the impact of tech on youth, disinformation, and gender and politics. I am available for interviews and commentary on these topics in English.
For interview requests, collaboration, speaking invitations, to take part in the “Women on the Right” project, or just to chat, reach out by email or find me on the links below.
