Written by Yung-Ying Chang.
Image credit: Hands – Art4Good.jpg by Nanan’s Diy / Wikimedia, license CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED.
In 2021, amid the global pandemic and the sheer transformation of lives that followed, the North American Taiwan Studies Association’s (NATSA) annual conference launched its first-ever mental health-centred networking session, “Networking? Or Working on Your Net: Care Companions & Love Objects for Mental Health.” The unconventional session invited participants to use the time during an academic conference to work on something that was not purely academic: participants shared their life setbacks and frustrations not only in academia as scholars but also in life as the various roles they have assumed in response to various expectations. Participants were also invited to share their self-care practices and love objects–material or spiritual–with one another through small group breakouts. The virtual session allowed participants to feel a sense of community despite being physically apart and provided a space for retreat from the intense academic discussions during the conference.
After the conference, the NATSA planning team was surprised by the amount of feedback in praise of this session and, most importantly, the voice of “we need this.” With the success of this first effort, NATSA conferences have continued to make room for mental health sessions in subsequent years, with the belief that mental health issues can be discussed publicly, that the structural perspective of mental health issues should be identified, and that NATSA can provide a safe space for conference attendees to engage with related issues. The feedback also became the driving force behind the second season of the NATSA Podcast, The Grad Terminal 北美研究生轉運站 in 2021. The podcast features less-talked-about issues embedded in the academic institutional structures, which often lead to common struggles of graduate students. It draws attention not only to the challenges and difficulties but also to the insights and inspiration that many can relate to. There is also a resource guide about mental health and academic life on the NATSA website compiled by former NATSA staff.
The following year, the NATSA 2022 conference featured a session, “Embracing Setbacks: Mental Health and Self-Care Practices”, to further this initiative and continue the ongoing conversations. This time, Dr Chia-Min (Jamie) Ho from the School of Counselling at Marymount University was invited to lead the session. Using counselling resources such as the Self-Care Plan Template and Self-Compassion Meditation, participants learned to find a safe place to pause and listen to their inner voices. This session served as a reminder to participants that academic work is not everything. There are aspects of one’s physical health, mental well-being, and personal relationships–or, really, life in general–that should never be compromised for the sake of an academic career. The professional resources shared during the session were meant to come in handy in times of need; all participants were reassured that no matter what they were going through, they were not alone.
At the 2023 NATSA Conference, this series took a different form by inviting four conference attendees with diverse backgrounds and experiences to co-facilitate the session “Supporting Each Other from Minoritized Taiwanese Perspectives”. The session was designed to provide a platform for Taiwanese and Taiwanese American graduate students and young scholars to foster informal socialization and, more importantly, to provide an environment where participants could discuss how they manage or cope with experiences and anxieties related to “being marginalized” or “being different” in North American academic settings and their personal lives.
The session focused on the processes of transitioning to a different country for academic pursuits and the challenges that arise from this transition. Being marginalized can mean a variety of experiences. In this context, the NATSA planning team was particularly interested in exploring the realms of ethnic/racial (being Taiwanese, Taiwanese American, Indigenous, or international student) and gender (LGBTQIA+) identities as scholars seek to centralize their work within North American academia. Nonetheless, the session served as a space for participants interested in discussing experiences of marginalization from other perspectives. These identities can present intersectional complexities as scholars navigate the social histories of both Taiwanese and North American contexts, especially when moving to, interacting with, and adjusting to a new country.
The session began with introductions of participants, followed by small group dialogues about personal experiences of difference, marginalization, and the challenges of relocation. Participants shared significant memories of feeling marginalized, with the group offering collective support and understanding. The discourse then moved to strategies for dealing with these situations or possible alternative responses; participants also explored how their identities and experiences could drive innovation in their respective fields.
The four co-facilitators then introduced themselves and outlined the topics for their respective small groups. Participants were encouraged to join each group discussion, which had a different focus. One facilitator led a discussion about teaching as an international student in North American higher education and different teaching techniques to foster a positive learning environment. In a similar setting, another facilitator shared their experiences as a lecturer and researcher at a U.S. university museum and the practicalities of working in the U.S. In one of the groups, participants were led in an exploration of Taiwanese American identity. The facilitator of the final group discussed issues related to Taiwanese Indigenous people and shared their experience as an Indigenous individual studying in the United States. One of the NATSA staff members also helped facilitate a discussion regarding queer and Taiwanese American identity, where participants shared their experiences as a person with different intersections of identities.
In the span of just a few years, the inclusion of mental wellness sessions at NATSA conferences has evolved into a vital and transformative component of our gatherings. What began as a pioneering endeavour in 2021 has grown into a sustained commitment to the holistic well-being of our community. As we reflect on the journey from that inaugural “Networking? Or Working on Your Net” to the recent “Supporting Each Other from Minoritized Taiwanese Perspectives,” we are inspired by the profound connections and discussions that have unfolded. These sessions have reaffirmed the importance of addressing the multifaceted aspects of our lives as scholars and individuals. The NATSA community values not only academic excellence but also the nurturing of our physical and mental health, personal relationships, and the celebration of our diverse identities. In this shared commitment, we find strength, solidarity, and the assurance that we are never alone in the pursuit of our academic passions. Taiwan Studies is never just about studying Taiwan but about building a community and supporting one another. As NATSA continues to provide a safe space for these conversations, we look forward to the growth and resilience that will undoubtedly follow, knowing that our collective well-being remains at the heart of our mission.
Yung-Ying Chang is a PhD candidate in Sociology at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. Her research interests lie at the intersection of identity politics, political sociology, collective behaviour and social movements, and global and transnational sociology. She uses mixed methods to study how people engage in politics, narrowly or broadly defined, in different contexts and how they navigate structural inequalities and constraints. Yung-Ying is the 29th President of NATSA.
This article was published as part of a special issue on ‘NATSA 2023: Repositioning Taiwan’.
Taiwan Insight 