COVID-19 and Anti-Chinese Racism [Funder: Carleton University COVID-19 Rapid Research Response Grants]

The upsurge of anti-Chinese, anti-Asian racism amid COVID-19 is a growing social crisis. The research question of this project is: How do Chinese Canadians from mainland China understand their experiences with racism associated with COVID-19 and consider possible actions pushing back racism? Its objectives are: 1) to examine how mainland Chinese Canadians make sense of the rising anti-Chinese racism and respond; 2) to develop sociological analyses that connect individual experiences and perspectives with societal and historical conditions; 3) to mobilize knowledge to contribute to the efforts of the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre (OCCSC) to offer public education programs; 4) to prepare a larger project proposal for funding from external sources. This qualitative study uses textual data, interview data, and auto-ethnographic accounts and is conducted by a researcher with extensive experience in relevant fields, linguistic competency for fieldwork, and ongoing community engagement.