In Madness and Civilization, Michel Foucault explains how madness ‘appeared’ when leprosy vanished. In other words, people felt the need to construct a new “other” to single out and point the finger at. This is just one of the countless examples that history offers of how easy it is to construct the “us” versus “them” dichotomy when a certain group feels threatened and believes it should protect its members. Inevitably, these sentiments lead to the emergence and spread of racism and xenophobia, which, in turn, may lead to conflict and ethnic cleansing.
Presently, among all the other problems we are facing, we have to deal with a possible new wave of xenophobia due to the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation on the one hand and to the irresponsible behavior of some of the world leaders on the other.
In your paper, explain what the phrase “Chinese virus” means and what implications it has or may have. Then, choose two more historical events illustrating a similarly divisive and conflictual situation and explain what these events have in common vis-à-vis the “us” versus “them” dichotomy described above. You could choose to talk about one of the events mentioned by Frank Snowden on Democracy Now! (e.g., the anti-Semitism sparked by the bubonic plague, the Black Death, in Europe) or any other event you may be familiar with and/or want to research more about (e.g., the Hutu-Tutsi conflict in Rwanda in 1994).
Requirements:
–You have to use at least two course readings and, optionally, one independently researched source.
–Do not use Wikipedia as one of your sources. You should feel free to read Wikipedia for information and ideas, but if you want to quote and/or paraphrase, you should go to the original source(s).
–The essay must be typed and double-spaced in 12-point font.
–Use MLA style. See https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/.
TWO SOURCES / COURSE READINGS:
Frank Snowden on epidemics from the Black
Death to now, Democracy Now! https://www.democracynow.org/2020/5/18/frank_snowden_covid_19_epidemics_history
Albert Camus – The Plague,” The School of Life.
https://www.theschooloflife.com/article/camus-and-the-plague/
