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. 2020 Jun 4;36(3):11–15. doi: 10.1111/1467-8322.12574

Life under lockdown: Notes on Covid‐19 in Silicon Valley

ROBERTO J GONZÁLEZ, JOHN MARLOVITS
PMCID: PMC7300741  PMID: 32572297

Abstract

This article is a preliminary exploration of the effects of Covid‐19 in Silicon Valley, one of three pandemic ‘hotspots’ on America’s west coast. In particular, it describes how the crisis has deepened and magnified social and economic inequalities in a region where poverty, homelessness and gentrification are rife. Despite the fact that many technology firms are reaping massive profits in the wake of ‘shelter in place’ orders, many Silicon Valley workers have lost their jobs and are struggling to cope with the consequences of Covid‐19. The article also analyzes the different meanings of ‘lockdown’ by comparing examples from China, Brazil, Taiwan and the United States. The authors conclude that anthropologists have a significant role to play in helping to understand how and why communicable diseases emerge, the underlying social and environmental conditions that fuel them and cross‐cultural strategies for the effective mitigation of epidemics and pandemics.

 

Biographies

Roberto J. González is chair of the anthropology department at San José State University. His email is roberto. gonzalez@sjsu.edu.

John Marlovits is a lecturer in the anthropology department at San José State University. His email is john.marlovits@sjsu.edu.

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