At 19:30, on 27 March, 2020, the Institute of Cultural Heritage and History of Science & Technology held the 217th lecture of the Academic Forum on the History of Science and Technology, ‘Dealing with the Epidemic—The Globalization of Diseases and the Community of Scientists Worldwide’, in the form of an online video conference. Professor Gao Xi, executive director of the China Association for Science and Technology and the president of the Fudan University Department of History, was invited as a lecturer. The event was hosted by Professor Qian Wei, the dean of our college. More than 100 teachers and students from inside and outside the college attended the lecture.

Professor Gao Xi used the trending topic of the COVID-19 pandemic as an opener for her lecture. By examining the origin of its name, the coronavirus, and the history of the disease worldwide, she concluded that the disease itself is global in nature, that is, it is borderless and cross-cultural.

Prof. Gao Xi explored the etymological meaning of the Greek word ‘epidemic’. She explained the cultural metaphors of diseases from the perspectives of civilisational identity, ecological environment, regional economy, and traditional culture. She further analysed the relationship between diseases and the progress of human civilisation. Prof. Gao Xi argued that historians of science should discuss how the globalisation of epidemics and the construction of infectious disease models have influenced how history is written.

At the end of the lecture, students and teachers asked questions about the relationship between the globalisation of science and globalisation of diseases, historical epidemic transmission routes, and disease isolation. Prof. Gao Xi provided detailed analyses and answers to their questions and recommended books for the students to read.