Book Review - Contagious Divides
Nayan Shah's 2001 book Contagious Divides: Epidemics and Race in San Francisco's Chinatown provides a unique portrait of the different representations of Chinese immigrants in the twentieth century, particularly in San Francisco, and how they have changed in the intervening years. The book itself takes a dramatically close look at public health issues surrounding Chinese immigration as well, as the portrayal of Chinese immigrants at first was extremely negative. The urban landscape of San Francisco was dramatically changed by the large influx of Chinese emigrating to the US, and the public health concerns that followed were dramatic and stifling to racial ...
