The Nellie Langford Rowell Library, housed in the School of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies in Founders College at York University, is excited to announce the first Nellie Library Undergraduate Student Conference, to be held virtually on March 4 and 5, from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. EST daily. To close the conference on March 5, the library will host the inaugural Poetry Slam! beginning at 3:30 p.m. Organizers hope to make the conference and poetry slam an annual event.

Conference participants are comprised of York University’s strong, committed and creative upper-year undergraduate students, while the Poetry Slam! features inspired, and inspiring, works by York University first- to fourth-year undergraduate students. The aim of the conference is to provide students with an opportunity to gain invaluable conference presentation skills, while also extending an opportunity for students to further strengthen works-in-progress and to network with peers.

Conference presenters will highlight work they have recently completed or are in the process of completing. Audience members can anticipate an array of interesting and unique projects in the form of written papers, poetic presentations, storytelling and visual art, submitted in the Fall 2020 semester or to be submitted in Winter 2021, which are engaged with feminist, anti-racist, intersectional, interdisciplinary and/or decolonizing approaches. Each presentation will last for five to 10 minutes, followed by a brief Q-and-A period.

Family members, friends and peers of the presenters, as well as the wider York University community, are invited to attend and celebrate the accomplishments of York’s undergraduate students.

For conference agenda and Zoom connection information, visit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zsDECyBVYaColi-ye8uoZ_4pMRXgq80RNjJzk8HCexA/edit?usp=sharing.

Questions should be directed to the Nellie Langford Rowell Library at nlrowell@yorku.ca.