Datum
23. April – 24. April 2025
CfP for a panel in the international Conference Health, Environment, and AnThropology (HEAT)
Call for paper to the panel on the topic „Climate change, island change, and wellbeing in small island communities”
Health, Environment, and AnThropology (HEAT)
Durham
23 – 24 April 2025
co-organised by Durham and Edinburgh Universities and sponsored by the Royal Anthropological Society (RAI)
CALL FOR PAPERS
Panel: “Climate change, island change, and wellbeing in small island communities”
Surrounded by sea, islands have long been seen as remote and isolated by necessity, though island life in practice involves movement both out of and back towards the island (Kohn, 2006; Nic Craith, 2020). Without enough attention being paid to the needs of island communities in decision- and policy-making affecting them, islands are also frequently associated with vulnerability (Kotsira, 2021), among others raising concerns about their sustainability and resilience (Ratter, 2017). If island life is already challenging as such, what is the further impact of climate change and climate-induced disasters on the mental health and wellbeing of islanders, particularly in small island communities?
This panel invites papers discussing ethnographic examples and primary research covering aspects such as:
‑Local understandings of mental health and wellbeing, and whether/how they are impacted by the climate crisis and the ways islanders respond to changing circumstances.
Access to mental health services and service gaps to be addressed so small island populations facing the by-products of climate change are supported.
‑How preconceptions of remoteness and isolation, vulnerability, sustainability and resilience are challenged by the circumstances created by the climate crisis
locally, and their impact on mental health and wellbeing.
‑The role of climate change in conceptualisations of the future on/of small islands, feelings of uncertainty, and their impact on islanders’ mental health and
wellbeing.
‑How the mental health and wellbeing of researchers are affected while doing research on small islands impacted by the climate crisis, including coping mechanisms and
research strategies.
ABSTRACT SUBMISSION GUIDANCE
The deadline for submissions is 13 January 2025.
Please submit your paper abstract through the conference portal here: https://pay.durham.ac.uk/event-durham/abstract/info
Once you access the portal:
Choose from the drop-down menu the event you wish to attend: Health, Environment, and AnThropology (HEAT) 2025.
Fill in your personal and professional details.
Provide the title of the paper you wish to present.
Select talk from the list of presentation options.
Upload your paper abstract. Your abstract must me no more than 250 words, and attached as a .doc or .pdf file (maximum upload size 10 MB).
Select from the drop-down menu the title of the panel you wish to join: Climate change, island change, and wellbeing in small island communities.
You do not have to be an RAI or ASA member to propose a paper, but please note that only papers submitted via conference portal will be considered.
More information about the conference can be found on the website: https://pay.durham.ac.uk/event-durham/health-environment-and-anthropology-heat-2024