PMC:7151455 JSONTXT 19 Projects

Editorial: Studying the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on intercultural relations In late December 2019, medical professionals in China’s Wuhan province reported an unusual pneumonia-like sickness that was sending people to the hospital. This alert was our introduction to the COVID-19 coronavirus – a disease that no one had heard of but that none of us will soon forget. Less than three months later, most of the world is on lockdown. Stock markets are crashing, most international travel has been stopped, and restaurants and bars have shut down. People have been advised not to leave their houses unless absolutely necessary. Earlier today – March 18, 2020 – a group of college students were chased away from Miami’s South Beach after the city had closed all of its beaches to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Normally, Florida’s beaches cater to college students during the annual spring break – but not this year. Similarly, many cities in Italy and Spain are not allowing residents to leave their homes except for emergency purposes. Bars in Germany – famous for their local beers – have been ordered to close. The US-Canadian border, which is normally crossed by thousands of people each day – is closed to air, vehicle, and pedestrian traffic. Sports leagues have canceled their seasons. Universities around the world have become ghost towns as students are ushered off campus and courses are moved online. Countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, and Spain have become hotbeds for the coronavirus pandemic. Italy reported its first coronavirus case on January 31, and as of March 18, nearly 30,000 cases (and nearly 3000 deaths) have been reported in that country. Around the world, people of Asian descent have been discriminated against, threatened, or blamed for the coronavirus outbreak. The speed at which the outbreak and pandemic have moved is dizzying. If I were not experiencing these events personally, I would probably think they came from a Stephen King novel. Less than a month ago, I flew cross-country from Los Angeles to Miami on a completely full flight and then ran a half marathon with 2000 other runners. Never would I have thought that neither of these events would be possible a few weeks later! Never would I have thought that I would not be able to go to my office for more than two months. Never would I have thought that simply visiting a nearby restaurant would be a health hazard. What are the implications of these rapid changes for intercultural relations? As we distance from each other in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, what is happening to our thoughts and feelings about others who are different from us? What happens when we blame Asian-descent people for a virus over which they have no control? Even after the coronavirus pandemic has ended, will people still view China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Spain, and other countries with suspicion? How should researchers include coronavirus-related measures in their studies? Clearly, this is a moment in human history that cannot be ignored – and not accounting for the effects of the pandemic on people’s lives may introduce considerable confounds into our results. Can the coronavirus pandemic be used as an opportunity to study the effects of scapegoating, social distancing, and mass anxiety on intercultural relations? Later in 2020, we will likely issue a call for papers on the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on intercultural relations. I personally am including coronavirus-related stress measures – my colleague Audrey Harkness at the University of Miami has designed such a measure – in my upcoming longitudinal projects with migrant samples. I would similarly advise other intercultural researchers to look for ways to incorporate coronavirus-related measures or methods into their studies. This pandemic is a historical moment that will have a lasting effect on the ways in which people, communities, and nations relate to one another.