The coronavirus has brought with it an increase in anti-Asian rhetoric and reported hate crimes targeting Asian/Asian American people and businesses in the U.S. Additionally, national and international anti-Jewish rhetoric has scapegoated members of the Jewish communities as purveyors of COVID-19. In parts of China and in parts of India, Africans and Muslims, respectively, have been accused of spreading the virus and subjected to discriminatory practices and violence. This seminar will briefly discuss the history of scapegoating minority groups during periods of unrest and how the coronavirus has fueled a resurgence of targeted racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia. The seminar will also discuss how language, such as repeated use of “the China virus,” perpetuates misinformation about how the virus spreads.
