I Spent Hours Trying To Convince My Contacts in the Middle East That US Is Not behind the Coronavirus – and I Failed

A specialist in American studies, Lalatendu Das has worked in various capacities for more than two decades with several institutions and organizations in India and abroad, including some leading US-based groups. He has taught courses in Political Science and American Studies, and delivered lectures in his research area in several countries across the world, including the US, Turkey, India, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong and Indonesia. Lalatendu got international scholarships, awards and grants for his research works and the presentations. He received the "Focus Field Award" from ARNOVA at Washington, DC, and the “Superlative Award” from the Indo-American Center for International Studies. Lalatendu also received a grant from ARNOVA to visit the University of Washington in Seattle where he talked on American civil rights issues and chaired an international panel session. He made his last presentation in 2018 at the University of Hong Kong’s School of Social Sciences on the current discourses on African American philanthropy. Lalatendu was scheduled to visit Concordia University in Montréal, Canada, in Summer 2020 to speak on the shift in paradigm in African American philanthropy in the 21st century, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he took part in a virtual global conference in July 2021 to discuss his research findings. He also moderated a session at the conference. He can be reached at lalatendu2016@gmail.com.