Where does the history of an illness reside, both for individuals and for communities? Prof. Elizabeth Outka (University of Richmond) joins us to consider how modernist literature captures the subtle afterlives of such history in the wake of the 1918 pandemic–how illness and its memories ripple through language, bodies, and nations–and what last century’s catastrophic pandemic might teach us about the post-pandemic contemporary. Introduction by Dr. Lisa Coleman. Moderated by David Sugarman.  

The respective trajectories of China, Asia, and the US during the global pandemic clarified and calcified current geopolitical tensions of political economy today. Prof. Andrew Liu joins us to consider the burgeoning talk of a new US-China “cold war,” debates over the origins of the novel coronavirus in China, ongoing obstacles in the global network of supply chains, and the overlap between questions related to the “rise of Asia” and the contradictions of Asian American identity. Moderated by Prof. Charmaine Chua.

The summer of 2020 was a time of unprecedented anti-police action, with millions of Americans coming together to protest police violence. These protests were also responding to what the pandemic made clear: that socioeconomic precarity is itself a form of state sanctioned violence. This conversation between Prof. Alex Vitale (Brooklyn College) and Kay Gabriel considers the importance of this moment and the political possibilities it reveals. Moderated by Ben Mabie. 

A panel discussion of the structural dynamics of the current care crisis and the impact of the COVID19 pandemic. This event inquires into the ways in which the cost of care continues to be off-loaded onto the underpaid working class and unpaid precariat, as Emma Dowling and members of the Care Collective consider what it would mean to seriously value care in our society. Moderated by Rosie Warren.

The pandemic transformed our understanding of labor. Hospital workers saw dire shortages of staff and supplies, offices were emptied for “remote work,” and we watched as the already woeful conditions of our essential workers and industries worsened further.  Aaron Benanav and Grace Blakeley discuss the future of work in the light of the shifts the pandemic produced, the inequalities it exacerbated, and the precarities it laid bare. Moderated by Nicole Aschoff (Verso). 

The pandemic undid a world already structured around the ubiquity of catastrophe. This series of keynote speakers will consider COVID19 as part of a recent history of ever-unfolding disasters. Moderated by Dr. Lisa Coleman.

The pandemic undid a world already structured around the ubiquity of catastrophe. This series of keynote speakers will consider COVID19 as part of a recent history of ever-unfolding disasters. Moderated by Dr. Lisa Coleman.

This essay is part of the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU’s A/P/A Voices: A COVID19 Public Memory Project.

In partnership with the Tamiment Library and Wagner Labor Archives, Minju Bae reflects upon the life of a mentor and friend.

This essay is part of the Asian/Pacific/American Institute at NYU’s A/P/A Voices: A COVID19 Public Memory Project.

In partnership with the Downtown Collection at NYU’s Fales Library, Marika Cifor engages with archival materials related to the afterlives of the AIDS epidemic, and considers these in relation to the experience of the COVID19 pandemic.

COVID-19 has brought global communities together in new ways, and we’ll have to collaborate technically and across generations to address all the disruptions we face, writes Lisa M. Coleman.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, a reframe emerged over and over again—’when we return to normal,’ or ‘a new normal is emerging.’ I would like to suggest that what disruption allows for is the possibility for ‘a new different’—new ways of imagining and innovating, new ways of doing the work of Global Inclusion, Diversity, Belonging, Equity, Access, and Belonging.”