Welcome by Yoshi Grote
Important details about the conference by Gretchen Clark
"Fledgling" by Phil Norton
Each of us inhabits multiple, intersecting identities that shape our lived experiences. As a white woman living in Japan, I navigate life as both a global majority and a local minority. I am a fluent Japanese speaker, a mother to two bilingual, bicultural children, a PhD student in my 40s, an EFL educator, and a researcher focusing on the educational experiences of immigrant children and the...
This presentation draws on an autoethnographic study conducted as the capstone project for my Master of Education in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. The study explores how personal identity shapes teaching practice, particularly in contexts where aspects of that identity may be marginalized or rendered invisible, highlighting a broader gap in the literature: queer educator...
As a single, foreign Asian woman living in Japan, I chose to become a mother through medical treatment. It was a decision that challenged cultural expectations, social norms, and personal limits. Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, I arrived in Japan as an exchange student and have since spent nearly two decades working as an English teacher. Despite a fulfilling professional life, I faced...
This narrative case study explores how non-Japanese late-career female faculty members navigate complex, intersecting identities within higher education in Japan. As visible minorities, they strive to fulfil their many roles, both professional and personal, as educators, mentors, employees, partners, parents, and carers of elderly parents, while negotiating institutional cultures that often...
We all have multiple identities, and they shift naturally depending on the situations we encounter. In general, we are not conscious of these shifts, but in this session, we will examine how and why some individuals deliberately change their identities. In this presentation, we will focus on an intercultural training group (which uses the Contrast Culture Method) where role plays are an...
As a neurodivergent scholar in sociolinguistics and disability studies with no full-time employment, I would like to present my career history from my undergraduate studentship to my current post-doc position. Then, I would like to discuss how academia should be inclusive for neurodivergent scholars. Looking back on my personal story, I have been discriminated against by many university...
Shifting identities can be empowering and deeply rewarding, but it can also be exhausting at times. We may struggle to convince others of the legitimacy of one identity or wrestle with impostor syndrome – unsure if we truly belong in a space. At times, we may be transitioning away from long-held beliefs about who we are or shifting between roles. At other times, we may struggle to shake off...
You’re highly knowledgeable in your field, but when it’s time to share that knowledge, your voice sometimes tells a different story. It’s easy, and often jarring, to feel the shift from confident and assured in your daily role as an educator, researcher, or professional to nervous and shaky in the role of a public speaker trying to present your work. Maybe your voice trembles when all eyes are...
In this session, attendees will explore the concept of privilege. Using the ‘wheel of power and privilege’ developed by Sylvia Duckworth and others, we will consider what aspects of our identity grants us privilege in various situations and those that don’t. The presenters will lead the group in an informal discussion about possible things we miss, how to reconcile one’s privilege and then how...
"Coming out of the fog" is when an adoptee realizes and acknowledges the emotional and psychological impact of their adoption, which is caused by the separation from their birth mother. For some adoptees, they live their entire lives never emerging from the fog. Others gradually come out, like my sister. Then there are those like me who come out of the fog in an instant.
There I was, at 40,...
Universities in Japan are seeing an ever-increasing number of students from diverse cultural backgrounds (Mamiya, 2024). For students including international exchange students, returnees, and Third Culture Kids, university is thus a time not only to prepare for their future career, but also explore their identity and where they belong. In other words, do they view Japan as just a temporary...
What does it mean to navigate identity while teaching in a society that often values conformity? In this session, we will explore the lived experiences of five Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) in Japan who identify as neurodiverse, gender-diverse, sexually diverse, and racially diverse. Each speaker will share their personal journey of identity development, resilience, and connection while...
We are members of Counterpoint, a multicultural support group for foreign residents in Japan. Our mission is to help members deal with changes they encounter as years pass and to enable them to find joy and fulfilment in the later stages of life.
Fiona Creaser will begin by introducing the "Health" chapter of a diversity focused workbook designed for adult learners. She will then shift to...
As a single mom in Japan, much of my identity was shaped by that role, to the point where it even eclipsed my professional persona. I became Daren kun no Mama everywhere I went, and my entire day, schedule, and life were driven by meeting the needs of motherhood. As a single parent and a gaijin living in Japan, I was isolated in many ways. It was overwhelming for both of us at times as we...
Moving to a new country and living abroad for a considerable amount of time transforms you, whether you consciously realize it or not. Living in a culture that is radically different from ours can be challenging due to differences in customs, traditions and values. Our sense of identity evolves, and this can lead to a feeling of identity confusion and loss. Growing up in Chennai, one of the...
In many classrooms I have experienced as both student and educator, learners are expected to conform to standardized norms, which reflect the culturally homogeneous nature of Japanese society. As a Filipino woman in Japan, I bring a different set of lived experiences. While working against persistent stereotypes surrounding Filipino women in Japan, I also encountered the assumption that I am a...
Fiction is an inevitable product of imagining "the other," which is often a crucial first step to understanding and combatting oppression. Fictional media, then, can in turn be understood as a promising site of connection, understanding, and growth. Media about people different from us can be a particularly rich site of conceptualizing, imagining, and remediating our understand of marginalized...
The Sekai Uchinanchu Taikai takes place every five years, bringing together thousands of people of Okinawan descent (Uchinaanchu) from all over the world for a week of events in Okinawa. In this session, I will explore how participation in this event and others with members of Okinawan communities both in Okinawa and in diaspora, helped me to realize the extensive shared commonalities and...
What happens when everything you thought you knew about yourself dissolves at once? When your body, culture, relationships, and work all shift simultaneously, familiar roles vanish and uncharted selves begin to emerge. This 50-minute interactive workshop invites participants to explore identity "extinction" — those liminal moments when who we were no longer fits who we're becoming. Drawing on...
Recently, the theory of intersectionality from Feminist Studies has gained recognition as a valuable tool to explain how individuals encounter prejudice or discrimination not solely based on a single aspect of their identity, but rather due to the collective aspect of their identity, especially a combination of a gender identity element and other minority elements. Members of minority groups...
Thank yous to all the important people (i.e. YOU)
"In My House" by Phil Norton
Beginner Yoga session, no gear needed!
She will offer one 30 minute session at 11:15.
Beginner Yoga session, no gear needed!
She will offer one 30 minute class at this time.
