Florence Ashley
Pronouns: they/them
Contact
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre
- fashley@ualberta.ca
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Transgender People and the Law Criminal Law Health Law Family Law Science and the Law Bioethics Health Policy Feminist Legal Studies
About
Florence Ashley is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law and member of the John Dossetor Health Ethics Centre. An award-winning transfeminine jurist and bioethicist who moves through academia using a profoundly transdisciplinary approach, Florence conducts broad-ranging research on issues faced by transgender people in the legal and healthcare systems. Florence holds BCL/JD degrees and an LLM (Bioeth) from McGill University and received their SJD from the University of Toronto. In 2019-2020, they served as the first openly transfeminine law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada in the chambers of Justice Sheilah Martin. They were honoured with the 2019 Hero Award by the Canadian Bar Association SOGIC (LGBTQ2S+) Section.
Florence is the author of Banning Transgender Conversion Practices: A Legal and Policy Analysis (UBC Press, 2022; foreword by UN Independent Expert Victor Madrigal-Borloz). They have published over 30 refereed articles and chapters in journals including the University of Toronto Law Journal, the NYU Review of Law & Social Change, Nature, the Journal of Medical Ethics, the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Perspectives on Psychological Science, and MIND. Their work has been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada, the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health standards of care.
Florence is a frequent contributor to public conversations on feminist and LGBTQ issues, penning op-eds and offering their expertise to journalists. They are a founding fellow of the Centre for Applied Transgender Studies and sit on the editorial board of its flagship Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies. Florence is a member of the Law Program Committee of the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF) and of the National Council of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).
Hailing from Montréal, Florence’s first language is French. Their pronouns in English are they/them. In French, they use feminine grammatical gender along with the pronoun ‘ille’ (/ɪj/ or /ij/).
To learn more about Florence, find their curriculum vitae, or access a list of publications, visit www.florenceashley.com. Please include cute animal pictures when emailing them.
Research
For a list of publications, visit www.florenceashley.com.
Courses
LAW 420A - Criminal Law
A general introduction to the criminal law, including basic procedure, evidence, and sentencing rules, with primary emphasis on substantive criminal law. Topics include the physical and fault elements of offences, common law and statutory defences, and constitutional principles.
LAW 420B - Criminal Law
A general introduction to the criminal law, including basic procedure, evidence, and sentencing rules, with primary emphasis on substantive criminal law. Topics include the physical and fault elements of offences, common law and statutory defences, and constitutional principles.
LAW 486 - Jurisprudence
An examination of law from a theoretical rather than a doctrinal perspective. Every year, the course will consist of a number of seminar offerings whose focus will be on a broader theoretical examination of law, legal processes, and institutions. Each of these courses will allow a critical examination of law from a variety of perspectives such as; legal theory, literature, politics, economics, social and cultural development, and religion.
LAW 599 - Seminars on Specialized Legal Topics
These seminars will cover specialized topics of emerging importance in the law at a senior level. The particular topic covered would vary dependent on the availability of Faculty with necessary teaching competence, student interest, and the needs of the legal profession. Sections may be offered at an increased rate of fee assessment; refer to the Tuition and Fees page in the University Regulations sections of the Calendar.