Literature Is Alive celebrates the humanities in its Annual Symposium
The “Why Study Humanities Today” Symposium invited students to share their thoughts on the academic, global and social significance of the humanities in today’s world.
On March 15, the Department of English and Drama, along with the student-led group Literature Is Alive (LIA), presented the “Why Study Humanities Today? World-Building for Social Change” symposium. The ongoing theme of the symposium was to give insight into and celebrate how studying the humanities and combining it with other disciplines can enhance students’ careers and equip them with valuable advocacy skills.
LIA is a student-centred group co-founded by students and Dr. Julia Boyd that organizes events bringing students and staff together for “inspiring conversations about the practical career benefits, interdisciplinary applications, and real-world social and environmental impacts of studying English and writing in university,” according to the group’s About Us poster.
The events arranged by LIA range from Career Panels to lectures and arts and crafts social events featuring performances of student literary work. Since 2024, they have hosted various research symposiums for students to share their insights on themes like “Living Humanities” and “Building Worlds.”
One of these symposiums, which has since become annual, is the “Why Study Humanities Lightning Lecture,” which seeks to celebrate the vital contributions of the humanities to academic studies.
The event was marketed heavily by LIA and the Department of English & Drama through e-mails and posters encouraging students to present and attend. Additionally, a workshop was hosted beforehand to assist presenters prepare for their speeches and differentiate essays intended for speaking rather than writing.
The event was structured into three panels, during which student speakers gave individual presentations on their interpretations of the different aspects of the humanities.
A closer look at the panels and presentations
The three panels each had specific themes. Panel 1 was titled, “From Words to Action: Humanities for Activism and Social Justice;” Panel 2 was titled, “Building Bridges; Interdisciplinary Humanities for Community;” and Panel 3 was named, “From Communications to Career: Humanities for Workplace Success and Creative Innovation.”
During Panel 1, English major Rawan Alzatma presented, “Literature: The Strongest Tool in the Face of Violence,” during which he discussed how while the Palestinian people have faced colonization at the hands of many forces, their spiritual presence remains intact. Such a lingering presence is due to the words and stories, which cannot be destroyed by weapons, that represent the lives of Palestinian people.
Also during Panel 1, first-year student, Vera Allue, presented, “Food Feeds Generations” which discussed how the humanities can provide insight into how narratives, from myth to social media, influence what foods become popular, like avocado toast and quinoa.
In Panel 2, third-year student Zilale Tursun presented “Us VS. Them: The Ambiguity of What it Means to be Human,” and made the simple point that the humanities are necessary to define what human existence is.
Such a topic aligned well with fourth-year student, Toni Burrell’s presentation titled, “There Is No Ethical Future in the Sciences Without Humanities,” which posed that the humanities are equally important as other fields because they provide insight into the experiences which make us human and explain why ethics are necessary to science.