The relationship between the sciences and the humanities is one that is currently marked by tension. Often viewed as distinct in their approaches to collecting and creating data, the two fields rarely come together to combine methodologies and form what could be a powerful symbiosis of qualitative and quantitative research. For our 18th annual conference, the English Graduate Student Organization is especially interested in exploring the past, present, and future relationships between STEM and the humanities.

As such, we invite graduate students of all disciplines to submit critical papers and creative works that address issues regarding the sciences and its relationship to the humanities. What do the sciences and humanities have to offer one another in terms of methods, practices, and theory? How and where do we locate the human or social in the sciences and where do we locate the natural or nonhuman in the humanities? How do we reconcile the perceived antagonisms that currently exist between the sciences and humanities in the academy? What relationship could the sciences and humanities share in the 21st century?

We schedule approximately 15 minutes for each presentation. For critical presentations, please submit a 250-word abstract to egsoalbany@gmail.com. For creative presentations, please send an email with a small sample of your creative work (.mp3, .jpeg, .tif, .avi, .mp4, or .doc files), as well as a 250-word description of your presentation to egsoalbany@gmail.com. We are particularly interested in creative works that are complemented by an explanation of how the author/artist sees their work contributing to critical discussions about the humanities and sciences. The conference will take place on April 4, 2020. Submissions are due by February 10, 2020.

Scholars might consider the following areas of interest, although they should not feel limited by them:

• Nature and science writing
• Science fiction
• Theories of the human, nonhuman, posthuman, and transhuman
• Nature and the social
• Social relations in the humanities and/or sciences
• Dynamics of oppression and identity
• Eco-poetics
• Animal studies
• Perceptions of universality and neutrality
• Interdisciplinary methodologies
• Use and abuse of academic rhetoric
• Eco-education
• Medical humanities
• (Dis)ability studies
• Engineering, technology, and the arts (STEAM)