We’ve never talked more about it, yet data is showing us that more and more people are having issues with their mental health (Mind, 2022). Exactly how are we critiquing the systems in which issues of care and mental health have arisen? We predominantly live in a neoliberal system, which arguably, has reduced ‘wellbeing by promoting a sense of social disconnection, competition and loneliness’ ( Tiong Tan & Shajahan, 2022) .
Has mental health been romanticised? Is care ostracised? Has our pain become our pleasure? Pathologized and medicalised? This symposium seeks to explore the perceptions of mental health and care in contemporary cultures. How should the responsibilities of care and mental health be shared between individuals and the state? How are the new digital environments we inhabit impacting our human experiences? Can any part of our lives not be touched by capitalism; when does the relational become transactional?
We are seeking submission proposals for:
- Speakers to share their thoughts, ideas and research upon these questions at the
symposium at the Peoples Republic of Stokes Croft, Bristol on the 4th May 2023.
Please submit a 300 word outline of theme and content. Speakers fee awarded.
- We are looking to develop Trauma Porn into a contemporary publication exploring the complexities of mental health in neoliberal times. Do you have an article, research paper or creative writing piece that responds to this call? Submit either your finished piece or a 300 word proposal, outlining theme and content.
- We are inviting practitioners to submit ready to hang artwork to exhibit during the symposium.
You can submit to one or all of the above. Please send submissions to jessie2.edwards-thomas@uwe.ac.uk and lea.belz-koeling@uwe.ac.uk by the 4th April 2023.
