The SARS and “bird flu” scares of 2003-2005 brought to light longstanding rhetorics of disease and xenophobia towards Asian America. The stigmatizing of Asians in the U.S. during the SARS and “bird flu” scares can be understood in light of 1) the rising economic and military power in China and Asia since the late 1990’s–a new “Yellow Peril” and 2) post-9/11 discourses about terrorism and bioterrorism. In this talk, Gwen D’Arcangelis focuses on the Orientalist and terror-filled representations of Asians as diseased and U.S. public health treatment of Asians during this period.
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