Annual Conference
In collaboration with colleagues conducting research in various disciplines at the University at Buffalo, HI hosts an annual gathering of notable national (and international) scholars in conversation with UB faculty and graduate students, framed through the lens of the humanities to address timely topics of concern.
The 2025-26 Humanities Institute annual conference will take place March 10-11, 2026, convened by Elizabeth Mazzolini, Associate Professor, department of English at the University at Buffalo.
Toxicity, a word rich in material and metaphorical implications, is the launching point of this year’s UB Humanities Institute Annual Conference taking place March 10-11, 2026. As a term, toxic identifies material threats to bodies and environments. Its connotations lead to a metaphorical use in affective atmospheres, situations, and even personalities. A conference on “toxicity” offers a chance to examine responses to actual poisons alongside the material effects of our metaphors. As a multi-day conference, “These Toxic Times” is designed to generate conversations about boundaries, power, purity, and resiliency through the sharing of work by scholars, artists, and activists. We invite you to join us as we, together, seek to unravel the complications, politics, histories, and practices surrounding “toxicity,” while drawing attention to the many ways we can, must—and do—carry on in toxic times.
Previous Years
Humanities to the Rescue (2018-2023)
From 2018-2023, the public program Humanities to the Rescue was developed and implemented as a companion event to the Buffalo Humanities Festival, dovetailing with the chosen theme for the year. In total, four iterations of Humanities to the Rescue were presented (with one cancellation proceeded by a hiatus due to COVID-19). In 2024, HI re-implemented the Annual Conference as a focused investment into UB's humanities-based research activities.