Kinsella Valies & Lisa M. Barker-Hunsberger
Sunday, October 27, 2024 – 2:00 p.m. via Zoom (The link and sign up information will be provided at a later date.)
Within the expat community in Japan, the Black diaspora is generally considered to be a minority within the minority. This presentation is based on a research paper exploring the professional journeys of Black women and non-binary individuals living and working in Japan. Through ethnographic dialogue, we explored the multi-faceted experiences of navigating social and professional contexts as Black individuals from various countries. We analyzed these dialogues to uncover the ways in which our participants have maintained their intersectional identities and found support within local communities. This presentation will focus on the overarching themes of identity, challenges, survival and support. We hope that as our talk elucidates the challenges and triumphs of these Black individuals in Japan, it will serve as the impetus for the crafting of more inclusive spaces and avenues of support.
Biodata
Kinsella Valies is an assistant professor at Jissen Women’s University and Aoyama Gakuin University, Japan. She holds a Masters degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Limerick, and has published articles on speaking assessment, teaching and assessing with film and TTRPG, motivation, and teacher supporting students. She is also co-author of the chapter Black Women’s Ibasho – Creating a Space of Belonging in Multilingual Matters’ New Perspectives on Language Education, Reimagining Dialogue on Identity, Language and Power (2023).
Lisa M. Barker-Hunsberger is a full-time lecturer at Kyushu Sangyo University. She is an Apple Distinguished Educator with an MA in linguistics. Lisa has been an educator for over 15 years, having taught in Jamaica, France and Japan, where her teaching experience has ranged from kindergarteners to retirees. She regularly delivers presentations and workshops on effective presentation design.