The Boston College Department of Medical Humanities, Health, and Culture presents a spring conference to be held virtually on Saturday, April 2, 2022.

The Boston College Medical Humanities, Health, and Culture Conference, entitled Resilience, welcomes undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines to consider the manifold notions of "resilience": as the act of rebounding or springing back, the ability to recover from or resist being affected by misfortune and challenges, or the power of resuming an original shape or position after being under pressure. Life during the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly exposed us to fear, anxiety, loss, and an endless stream of uncertainty. What makes us, as human beings, able to ‘bounce back’ from such trauma and unexpected occurrences? What gives shape to our stories of resilience? 

Considering the ongoing and intertwined crises of 2020, this conference is eager to explore the modes, meanings, and methods of resilience in the health humanities. Participants may examine how works in the humanities inspire resilience in the context of mental or physical health, how modern scientific research on resilience intersects with the humanities, or how the Medical Humanities dually address crisis and resilience. We welcome submissions from undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines, including critical, creative, or collaborative pieces in the form of analytical papers, personal essays, films, works of art, poetry, performance, visual art, or alternative forms not listed above. 

Topics to be explored in student works on resilience in the health humanities may include (but are not limited to):

• Health crises (public, personal, physical, mental, pandemics— real and fictional)

• Environmental crises (climate change, natural disasters, etc.)

• Diaspora/Migration (refugees, borders)

• Race (#BLM, the Civil Rights Movement, microaggressions, etc.)

• Other topics not included here

The Medical Humanities, Health, and Culture minor at Boston College emphasizes interdisciplinarity in its mission. Resiliency itself is multifaceted in its nature as it often results from a combination of psychological, biological, social, and spiritual factors. Therefore, we strongly encourage students from all disciplines and educational backgrounds to consider sharing their work so that we may inspire deeper and more holistic conversations around resilience in the modern age. 

Academic Paper Submissions: Paper submissions should be no longer than 15-minute presentations. Initial submissions should include a 250-300 word abstract, your name and pronouns, university affiliation, e-mail address, a short biography, three to six keywords describing your paper presentation, and any audiovisual requirements. Please submit your abstract to this Google Form by February 14th, 2022 at 11:59 PM EST.

Project and Creative Submissions: Project or creative presentations, which may take the form of a portfolio of art or a performance, should be no longer than 15 minutes. Initial submissions should include a 250-300 word abstract, your name and pronouns, university affiliation, e-mail address, a short biography, three to six keywords, and any audiovisual requirements. Please also detail the scale and duration of your piece if applicable so we may best accommodate your presentation in terms of space. Please submit your proposals to this Google Form by February 14th, 2022 at 11:59 PM EST.

We look forward to reading your submissions, which should all be submitted to this Google Form by February 14th, 2022 at 11:59 PM EST. 

Please contact Noël Ingram at medical.humanities@bc.edu or Julia Marzella at marzellj@bc.edu with any questions or concerns regarding submissions or visit our website at https://resilience.super.site/.