Abstract
Abstract The rise of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a global phenomenon. This article aims to develop a transcultural communication perspective to examine the global rise in anti-Asian violence. It discusses the intersection of global and local factors underlying the rise of anti-Asian racism in Canada, namely (1) the historical and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism (2) the flaws of Canadian multiculturalism, and (3) the insider/outsider dichotomy adopted by mass media’s framing of the pandemic. By explicating these structural factors from a transcultural communication perspective, this article argues that politicized transcultural discussions on white supremacy are urgently needed for initiating constructive conversations over anti-Asian racism worldwide.
Highlights
The rise of anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a global phenomenon
It discusses the intersection of global and local factors underlying the rise of anti-Asian racism in Canada, namely (1) the historical and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism (2) the flaws of Canadian multiculturalism, and (3) the insider/outsider dichotomy adopted by mass media’s framing of the pandemic
By explicating these structural factors from a transcultural communication perspective, this article argues that politicized transcultural discussions on white supremacy are urgently needed for initiating constructive conversations over anti-Asian racism worldwide
Summary
In academic literature the term “transcultural communication” is often used interchangeably with “cross-cultural communication” and “intercultural communication” The adoption of both global and post-colonial perspectives for transcultural communication research presents new methodological challenges related to “methodological nationalism”, the idea that many sociological theories build upon the assumption that national societies and territorial states were synonymous (Smith, 1979). Concerning this subject, Robins’ (2006) critical comments based on his research on media and migration are especially illuminating. How may theoretical insights offered by transcultural communication help us to understand toxic structural factors underlying the recent increase of anti-Asian hate crimes along with the COVID-19 pandemic? In what follows, we highlight three major subversive structural factors, beginning with colonial legacies and institutionalized White supremacy in many Western countries
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