Humanities Graduate Student Association
About HUGSA
About the Humanities Graduate Student Association: The Humanities Graduate Student Association (HUGSA) is a student-run club that represents the Humanities Graduate students. HUGSA aims to provide a space for our students to engage in discussions regarding topics within humanities and other disciplines. We also hope to help create a friendly social space for you to meet others in the program.
How to Connect With Us:
Email: hugsayork@gmail.com
Connect on Social Media: Facebook, Youtube
In Office Visits: Vanier College, room 029, Graduate Office Lounge.
Please feel free to connect with us through the information above. We look forward to meeting you here. For more information regarding our executive team, please see “Meet Your Executive Team.” If you are interested in helping out HUGSA, please see the Opportunities, as well as the Conference Tab for more information.
Meet Our Executive Team
Ryan Lee
Co-President (M.A)
Research Interests: Biblical Studies, Kant, Nietzsche, Descartes, Religious vs Secular, the relationship between the self and other; democracy and education, the use of listening skills in ethical and political discourses, education pedagogies.
Hobbies Include: restaurant hopping, doing logic derivations (something oddly satisfying doing derivations), reading, cooking, sleeping, watching movies.
Narayanamoorthy Nanditha
Co-President (PhD)
Research Interests: My research here is focused on the interrogation of digital communities in the Global South through the study of social media movements in India. I look at representation, access, embodiment, and participation of feminist and queer communities online.
Hobbies Include: I enjoy reading and traveling (I guess it's the same thing!).
Tina Benigno
CUPE 3903 Representative
Research Interests: girls, youth, neoliberalism and neoliberal feminism, qualitative research, speculative fiction, cinema and media studies, young people's views on socio-political issues and activism, care.
Hobbies Include: running, baking, reading, spending time with friends, watching TV, hanging out with pets
Niloofar Ghorashi
Communications
Research Interests: I am currently working on my research paper which is all about social media and the new era of unveiling "The Truth".
I am also the mom of a toddler who is super clever and keeps outsmarting me, and talks back! My husband says he gets that from his mom.
Hobbies Include: I am a lover of life, so narrowing down my interests is really hard. Having said that I am creative soul and anything that entails creating, designing, or using your imagination fascinates me. I am also a Reiki Master, I work with energy and can help you heal your energy blocks 🙂 I love spirituality and metaphysics (hence my area of study).
Rumor has it that I am a decent cook, and entertaining and taking care of others is also extremely satisfying to me. My greatest skill I would say is networking and public relations. I have had a natural gift in this area since I was a little girl and I hope to eventually be able to build a career out of it.
Recia Brown
Secretary
Research Interests: My research is focused on power, its role in social injustice and human relations.
Hobbies Include: I love reading, writing poetry, painting and creating anything arts and crafts related.
Opportunities
HUGSA is currently looking for talented and knowledgeable individuals to help plan out our 2020 End of Year HUGSA Conference, as well as our academic and social events. If you want to develop your event planning, leadership and communication skills, take a look at some of your job postings below:
Job Posting - Sub-Committee Editor
Job Posting - Sub-Committee Editor in Chief
Don’t See A Position You’re Interested In?
We are always looking for strong candidates to fill our team! If you do not see your role in our job postings, do not let that discourage you from applying. Send us your resume, including a brief description on how you can help out, and we will consider your application.
Thank you for your interest in joining HUGSA!
Conference


The Humanities Graduate Student Association, in collaboration with the Humanities Graduate department, is excited to announce our annual 2020 HUGSA Conference: Designing the Self. Our theme explores the various ways we construct our identity both in old and new media. The speakers presenting in this conference invite you all to question, critique and examine how intersectional identity is constructed? How does cultural production of the self occur in various forms of media? How representations of gender, masculinity or femininity occur in media?
This year we have received original and unique academic presentations. Our diverse cast of speakers are excited to present you their research.
Join us in a ground-breaking conference on July 15, 16, 17 as we challenge identity in media. Please RSVP at hugsaconf2020@gmail.com
Download a copy of the Agenda (.pdf)
HUGSA Conference 2020 Agenda
Day 1: July 29, 2020
9:00–9:15 | Registration and Meet and Greet |
9:15–9:30 | Introductions
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9:30–10:30 | Keynote Speaker:
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10:30–11:30 | (Panel) Identity and Politics:
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11:30–12:15 | (Panel) Religion and Identity:
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12:15–1:00 | Lunch Break: |
1:00–1:20 | (Panel) Business Women and Cosmetics:
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1:20–3:00 | (Panel) Cultural Production in Reading/Writing Part 1:
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3:00–4:30 | (Panel) Construction of Identity through Photography and (Modern) Art:
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4:30–5:00 | Coffee Break |
5:00–6:00 | (Panel) Construction of Identity through Film and Television:
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End of Day
Day 2: July 30, 2020
9:00–9:15 | Registration |
9:15–10:45 | Keynote Speaker
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10:45–11:30 | (Panel)Identity Construction through History and Language:
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11:30–12:30 | Cultural Production through music:
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12:30–1:00 | Lunch Break |
1:30–3:30 | (Panel) Identity Construction on Social Media Platforms Part 1:
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3:30–5:00 pm | (Panel) Cultural Production in Reading/Writing Part 2:
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5:00–6:00 | (Panel) Media Theory:
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End of Day
Day 3: July 31, 2020
9:00–9:15 | Registration and Meet and Greet |
9:15–10:45 | (Panel) Posthuman Identity:
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10:45–12:15 | (Panel) Identity Construction on Social Media Platforms Part 2:
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12:15–1:00 | Lunch Break |
1:00–2:00 | (Panel) Data Visualization and Digital Archives:
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2:00–3:15 | (Panel) Identity in Diverse Media: Digital Games, Fan Fiction, Comics, Animation, Live Performance:
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3:15–4:00 | (Panel) Political Identity—Refugees, Immigrants, and Marginalized Communities:
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