Keynote Speaker:

Suzanne Methot is the author of the award-winning non-fiction book Legacy: Trauma, Story, and Indigenous Healing (ECW Press, 2019) and the new YA book Killing the Wittigo: Indigenous Culture-Based Approaches to Waking Up, Taking Action, and Doing the Work of Healing (ECW Press, 2023).

Call for Proposals:

According to the World Health Organization, during the earliest moments of the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of anxiety and depression increased a remarkable 25% globally. A survey by PEW Research revealed that 41% of US adults experienced high levels of psychological stress during the height of the pandemic, including 37% of students who said that they struggled with their mental health “most or all of the time.” Numbers in Canada were similar, with the National Institutes of Health noting that over 37% of all Canadians experienced worsened mental health due to the pandemic, while 70% claimed that their mental health was “negatively impacted” in some way.

The forthcoming interdisciplinary academic conference aims to be a groundbreaking convergence of scholars, educators, practitioners, and researchers, all unified in their dedication to advancing the understanding of mental health. In partnership with The Mattering Group, this conference will also have a sub-focus on the promotion of post-secondary student psychological well-being and resilience, providing a dynamic platform for the exchange of innovative ideas and evidence-based practices aimed at nurturing resilience, enhancing mental health, and fostering a profound sense of well-being among students navigating the complexities of higher education.

More generally, the conference seeks to explore how people are coping, recovering but also still struggling following a globally experienced traumatic event. While open for proposals with a focus anywhere along the mental health spectrum, themes of interest are resilience; belonging, intergenerational trauma; addiction and recovery; psychopathology; and mental health in the arts, literature and popular culture. The concept of mattering is also a particular theme of interest, specifically recognizing its pivotal role in shaping the psychological landscapes of post-secondary learners.

By bridging the domains of psychology, education, literature, and various related disciplines, this event aspires to forge a path toward understanding modern mental health challenges, while also enabling a more resilient and mentally healthy population.

Subjects could include, but are not limited to

Activism

Addiction and Recovery

Art/film/literature and mental health

Authenticity and Wellbeing

Belonging

Burnout and Stress

Climate Change Anxiety

Cultural Competency in Mental Health Settings

Depression and anxiety

Disability Studies

Diversity in Mental Health Practices

Entrepreneurship & Wellbeing

Equitable Access

Gender Dysphoria

Gendering Mental Health

Harm

History of Emotion

Immigrant Students Mental Health

Inclusivity

Indigeneity and Mental Health

Intergenerational trauma

Intervention

MAID and Mental Health

Mattering

Mental Health and Aging

Mental Health and Pandemics

Mental Health and Sexual Orientation/Expression

Mental Health and the Metaverse/ Digital Mental Health Care

Mental Health in Health Care Workers

Mental Health Pedagogy in the Classroom

Mindfulness

Nature and Wellbeing

Persistence

Politics and/of Mental Health

Prevention

Psychopathology

Queer Mental Health

Racializing Mental Health

Resilience

School Culture and Safe Learning Environments

Social Media and Mental Health

Special Needs and Mental Health Care

Sport and Mental Health

Stigma and Discrimination

Student Mental Health

Well-Being

Whole Health

Our conference committee welcomes individual presentation proposals of 300 words, and panel proposals (3 people max) of 900 words, based on any of the above themes. This will be the tenth annual Humber@TIFA interdisciplinary conference held by Humber College’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences in association with the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA), one of the most celebrated literary festivals in the world. TIFA is located at the Harbourfront Centre, one of downtown Toronto’s major cultural and artistic venues.

Submit your proposal and a brief bio online by June 16, 2024: https://humber.ca/tifa/call-proposals