HGSS 2024 Call for Papers

Humanities Graduate Students Symposium 2024: Narratives of Identity

Saturday, February 10, 2024
Pond Inlet, Brock University

Call for Papers

The second annual Humanities Graduate Student Symposium on “Narratives of Identity” invites Brock graduate students in the Faculty of Humanities to explore the relationship between narratives and identity as scholars navigating the digital age. The symposium seeks to foster a dynamic dialogue on how narratives shape, reflect, and challenge ideas of identity; how we make sense of and interpret narratives of identity; and our role in public discourse on identity. The 2024 Humanities Graduate Student Symposium provides an opportunity for humanities graduate students to discuss their research as it relates to the theme in a welcoming environment.

“Narratives of Identity” is a formal, graduate student-run symposium consisting of three sessions. Each session will have three 10-minute paper presentations followed by a 30-minute round-table discussion with presenters and attendees.

We invite papers that contribute to the theme “Narratives of Identity”. The following provides examples of what that may look like.

Building narratives of identity:

  • The role of narrative and storytelling in shaping personal and collective identities.
  • Explorations of the construction, formation, and origin of narratives of identity.
  • Exploring narratives of identity built on othering, hate, or misinformation/disinformation.
  • The power of literature, art, and media in constructing narratives of identity.

Interpreting, making sense of, and working with narratives of identity:

  • Interpretive frameworks for understanding the representation and portrayal of identity in narratives. How is identity represented? What role does memory production, disruption, and ideas of shifting identity have on narrative?
  • How do we interpret and make sense of experience through narratives of identity? This can include literary, cultural, or historical analyses of narratives of identity.
  • Exploring counter-colonial narratives and decolonization.
  • What are the implications of shifting narratives of identity? How does this contribute to discussions and ideas on social justice, human rights, governance, and historical understanding?
  • How is the environment impacted by narratives of identity? What role does the environment play in establishing identity?

Humanities scholars and the public: knowledge mobilization:

  • How do humanities scholars, as the “creators of knowledge,” share ideas of narrative and identity to the public? How can we open up dialogue and have accessible conversations about narrative and identity informed both by academic research and personal/public experience?
  • How does popular culture consolidate narratives of identity to the public?
  • How do we reaffirm and counter national narratives on identity, and ideas borders (real and imaginary)?
  • What role do humanities scholars have in combating misinformation and disinformation?

Narratives of Identity and the digital world:

  • How does innovation impact narrative and identity?
  • The impact of social media, virtual reality, and online communities on narratives of identity.
  • How does AI (artificial intelligence) help or create challenges for navigating narratives of identity? How does AI impact human identity-formation?
  • How is presentism fueled by the digital age, and vice versa?
  • Indigenizing digitization/interactions of indigeneity and the digital.

Please send your abstract (250-350 words) along with a brief bio (name, pronouns, program of study) to our committee at brock.hgss@gmail.com by January 6, 2024.