This book describes and analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on the relationship between the United States and China in its human, social and political dimensions. It does so through the experience of faculty and students at Duke University and Duke Kunshan University, a US-China joint venture university. The book reveals the intimate stories of Chinese people trapped in quarantine, situating these stories in a longer historical perspective of plagues and disease prevention in China. It describes the impact of the virus on the racialized perceptions of Chinese-Americans and Chinese students in America. Finally, it offers a preliminary assessment of the impact of the coronavirus on the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party, and on US-China relations. Featuring the work of artists, student journalists, historians, anthropologists and political scientists, this book presents a breadth of insights into the impact of COVID-19.
James Miller is associate dean for interdisciplinary strategy, co-director of the Humanities Research Center, and professor of humanities at Duke Kunshan University. He is the author or editor of six books including, most recently, China’s Green Religion: Daoism and the Quest for a Sustainable Future (Columbia University Press, 2017).
