Humanities Graduate Student Symposium

Call for Papers

Fifth Annual Humanities Graduate Student Symposium
Theme: “Humanity and the Other”
Hosted by the Brock University Faculty of Humanities Graduate Students
Date: February 13th, 2027 | 9:00am – 3:00pm
Location: Sankey Chambers, Brock University – St. Catharines Campus

The fifth annual Humanities Graduate Student Symposium invites graduate students to examine the theme “Humanity and the Other.” This year’s symposium seeks to foster knowledge mobilization and interdisciplinary dialogue on the complex relationships between humanity and Otherness. Who or what is the Other? How and why is Otherness produced? Can or should it be overcome?

The 2027 Humanities Graduate Student Symposium provides the opportunity for graduate students across the humanities to share their research in a supportive and engaging academic environment.

Presentations and lightning talks should consider, but are not limited to, the following themes:

Impact of marginalization

  • The politics of cultural assimilation and alienation
  • Processes of marginalization on accessibility and knowledge production
  • Institutionalized biases and their repercussions
  • Systemic and/or societal (re)creation of Otherness

The environment as Other

  • Environmental ethics
  • Humanitas et plantae
  • Land use and decolonialization
  • Ecotourism and ecoterrorism

Nonhuman entities

  • Humanitas et animalia
  • The concept and implications of “Monsters”
  • The influence of the spiritual or supernatural
  • How doctrines create Otherness

Integration of technology and machines throughout history

  • The development of artificial intelligence and the ambiguities of personhood
  • Transhumanism
  • Technological reliance versus assistance

This symposium welcomes abstract submissions from disciplines across the Humanities as well as interdisciplinary and independent approaches.

Abstract Submission Guidelines

Interested students should submit a 250-word abstract and a short biography (50–75 words) to [email protected] by December 18th at 5:00pm.

Presentations should not exceed 10 minutes in length and will be followed by a 5-minute discussion period. Lightning talks should not exceed three minutes in length and will be followed by a 10-minute, moderated panel discussion. In their biography, students should indicate their preference for providing either a presentation or a lightning talk, though this accommodation is not guaranteed.

For any questions or accessibility requests, please contact Jack Fowler ([email protected]).