HIV/AIDS IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
Winter 2001 Freshman Seminar: A101-6; Section 21
Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University
Tuesday and Thursday 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Classroom location: Library 3622
1810 Hinman Avenue; Room 59-3 (in basement at back of Anthropology building)
Anthropology main office telephone: 491-5402
Professor’s telephone: 467-4302
Office Hours: Tuesdays 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm & by appointment
Final Exam schedule (final paper due): Tuesday March 13, 12:00 pm noon
Course Website: https://courses.northwestern.edu/courses/401025335/
Course Description: Why is the human cultural experience of the HIV virus so different for a heterosexual woman in west Africa, for an African-American youth in New York City, for a single mother in rural Georgia, for a gay man in San Francisco, for a college-student in Evanston? Why do a few people survive well with HIV and why do so many suffer so needlessly? What is the experience of an AIDS physician in the USA – how difficult is it to specialize in HIV/AIDS care? What are the special qualities of an AIDS doctor? These questions are central to the anthropological study of HIV/AIDS. Medical anthropologists are interested in the relationship between biology, disease, and culture. We always begin our work by asking: How does biology change culture and how does culture change biology? In this course we will ask those questions by exploring the experiences of HIV-positive patients and the people who care for them. You will read and analyse books by anthropologists, doctors, and patients themselves about their struggles with HIV/AIDS. For a class project, you will interview an AIDS care provider in the Chicago area. What you will read and learn will challenge your ideas about what it is to be HIV positive and give you ideas about how you can make a difference in the future of the AIDS epidemic.
Required Reading
Bayer, Ronald, and Gerald M. Oppenheimer
2000 AIDS Doctors: Voices from the Epidemic: An Oral History. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Renaud, Michelle Lewis
1997 Women at the Crossroads: A Prostitute Community's Response to AIDS in Urban Senegal. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach Publishers.
Sontag, Susan
1989 AIDS and its Metaphors. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.
White, Renée T.
1999 Putting Risk in Perspective: Black Teenage Lives in the Era of AIDS. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
PLUS readings on electronic or paper reserve in Main Library.
Be sure you have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to allow you to access electronic reserve articles. Contact Academic Technologies (467-4877) if you need assistance with installing Acrobat on your own computer or visit:
You can also access electronic reserve in the Main Library, and print these materials for $.05 per page.
ALL READINGS AVIALABLE ON RESERVE AT MAIN LIBRARY
http://www.library.nwu.edu/courses/index.html
AND FOR PURCHASE AT NORRIS BOOKSTORE
Recommended Reference Materials
Schwartz, Marilyn
1995 Guidelines for Bias-Free Writing. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Turabian, Kate L.
1996 A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. (6th ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
University of Chicago Press
1993 The Chicago Manual of Style. (14th ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
For general style directions, see http://www.english.nwu.edu/courses/stylesheet.html
Bibliographic and reference styles for this class follow the style used in the professional journal Medical Anthropology Quarterly v8, n2 1994 (MAIN Large Books: L 398.35305 M489)
For expert advice and free tutoring to improve your writing skills contact:
The Writing Place, Main Library, North Tower, 2nd Floor. 467-2791
Assessment:
4 short written papers (2 pp each; appx. 500 wds) @ 100 pts each 400 pts
Written analysis of class project (10 pages each) 500 pts
Class participation 100 pts
Total 1000pts
Final Grade:
A 930-1020 pts C+ 770-799 pts
A- 900-929 pts C 730-769 pts
B+ 870-899 pts C- 700-729 pts
B 830-869 pts D 600-699 pts
B- 800-829 pts F 599 and below
Attendance This is a seminar; your active and informed participation at each meeting is important to your overall grade. PLEASE NOTE: everyone is required to attend both meetings during Week 10--an unapproved absence on March 6 and 8 results in a 50 point deduction (each class) from your final overall grade point total. PRIOR approval for missing class during Week 10 is required.
Discussion leaders A team of two or three students will be assigned to each Tuesday and Thursday discussion. For about 10 minutes at the beginning of each discussion, the team will outline the important elements in each of the week’s assigned readings and make suggestions for topics for discussion.
Penalty for late papers For each day a paper is late, one full grade (10%) is deducted from the final grade for that assignment. If you anticipate submitting a late paper, you must get PRIOR approval from the instructor to avoid the penalty
Extra credit 10 points each, up to 20 total extra points, by attending and writing 500 words on a special lecture or event; PRIOR approval required by instructor.
Freshman Seminar Writing Awards: Weinberg College awards prizes for the six best papers written in Freshman Seminars during 2000-2001. Prizewinners are invited to attend the Dean’s honors lunch in late May and receive a $75.00 stipend. Criteria for judging include insightful analysis, cogent presentation of evidence, originality, and clear and graceful expression. Professors can nominate one or two papers per class for an award; I look forward to working closely with you on your paper so that we might submit it to the award committee for consideration!
Academic Integrity All Northwestern students and faculty are expected to adhere to the principles of academic honesty and integrity as outlined in the publication, “Academic Integrity at Northwestern-A Basic Guide”. Be sure you have a copy of this document and understand the regulations discussed within it. You can obtain a paper copy of the guide from the office of the Associate Provost in Rebecca Crown Center 1-110 (491-8542). Or you can access the document electronically at:
http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/uniprin.html
More information on academic integrity is available at this website:
http://www.northwestern.edu/uacc/
You can also consult the Northwestern University Undergraduate Catalog as well as your Student Handbook.
Week 1
Introductions
Thursday, January 4
Screening of west African videos about HIV/AIDS, Scenarios from the Sahel
http://www.ecit.emory.edu/worldclasses/safrica/Sahelvideo1.html
http://www.undp.org/hiv/publications/sahel/Table_of_Contents.htm#TopOfPage
http://info.tve.org/news/doc.cfm?aid=520
Week 2
Social Meanings of Illness
Tuesday January 9
Sontag, Susan
1989 AIDS and its Metaphors. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. (Read entire essay)
Thursday January 11
Kleinman, Arthur
1988 The Illness Narratives: Suffering, Healing, and the Human Condition. New York, NY: Basic Books. (Read chapter 1 “The Meaning of Symptoms and Disorders” pp 3-30)
Chambers, Ross
1998 Facing It: AIDS Diaries and the Death of the Author. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. (Read chapter 2 “Dying as an Author” pp. 17-33)
Short Paper #1 Due in class: Following Chambers’ statement that writing and reading about AIDS is also an act of witnessing AIDS (p. 32), what have you witnessed about illness and AIDS from reading the three perspectives of Sontag, Kleinman, and Chambers?
Week 3
Biology and Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS
Tuesday January 16
Meet in Main Library, Marjorie I. Mitchell Multimedia Center, The Forum Room, 2799.
Mann, Jonathan, and Daniel Tarantola, eds.
1996 AIDS in the World II. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. (Read chapter 1: “Global Overview: A Powerful HIV/AIDS Epidemic,” pp. 5-40)
Vuylsteke, Bea, Rose Sunkutu, and Marie Laga
1996 Epidemiology of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Women. In AIDS in the World II. J. Mann and D. Tarantola, eds. Pp. 97-109. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Weniger, Bruce G., and Seth Berkley
1996 The Evolving HIV/AIDS Pandemic. In AIDS in the World II. J. Mann and D. Tarantola, eds. Pp. 57-70. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
For the latest global statistics, consult the UNAIDS/WHO website
http://www.unaids.org/index.html
Thursday January 18
Meet in Main Library, Reference classroom, for a library tour
First floor, past interlibrary loan, on right across from escalators
Week 4
History of HIV/AIDS in the USA
Tuesday January 23
Bayer, Ronald, and Gerald M. Oppenheimer
2000 AIDS Doctors: Voices from the Epidemic: An Oral History. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. (Read pp 1-62; 275-277)
Thursday January 25
Bayer and Oppenheimer (Read pp 63-118)
SPEAKER: Ms. Susan Johnston Coordinator of Student Community Service
Norris University Center Campus Activities (#3-272) Office_phone: 847-491-2350
http://www.stuaff.northwestern.edu/norris/studcomsvc
Short Paper #2 Due in class
Week 5
History of HIV/AIDS in the USA
Tuesday January 30
Bayer and Oppenheimer (Read pp 119-169)
Thursday February 1
Bayer and Oppenheimer (Read pp 171-274)
Week 6
Asking Questions; Doing Research
Tuesday February 6
Spradley, James P.
1979 The Ethnographic Interview. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. (Read pp 3-54)
Thursday February 8
Bernard, Russell H.
1995 Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. (Read pp 208-236)
Spradley, James P.
1979 The Ethnographic Interview. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. (Read pp 55-106)
Short paper #3 due in class
Week 7
Young People and HIV/AIDS Today in the USA
Tuesday February 13
White, Renée T.
1999 Putting Risk in Perspective: Black Teenage Lives in the Era of AIDS. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (Read pp: 1-74; 159-165)
Thursday February 15
White (Read pp: 75-157)
Week 8
Women and HIV/AIDS Today in Africa
Tuesday February 20
Renaud, Michelle Lewis
1997 Women at the Crossroads: A Prostitute Community's Response to AIDS in Urban Senegal. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach Publishers. (Read pp: 1-88)
Thursday February 22
Renaud (Read pp: 89-167)
Short Paper #4 Due in class
Week 9
Do the field interview
No class meetings on Tuesday February 27 or Thursday March 1
Week 10
Oral presentations in class of field interviews
Tuesday March 6
Group #1: 10 minutes for each student to make oral presentation of field interview and final project. First draft of final paper due in class.
Thursday March 8
Group #2: 10 minutes for each student to make oral presentation of field interview and final project. First draft of final paper due in class.
TUESDAY MARCH 13, 12:00 pm (noon)
FINAL PAPER DUE IN ANTHROPOLOGY MAIN OFFICE
HIV/AIDS in Global Perspective Winter 2001 Freshman Seminar
WEEK
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
Jan 4
Class meeting
2
Jan 9
Class meeting
Jan 11
Short paper #1
Class meeting
3
Jan 16
Class meeting
Jan 18
Class meeting
4
Jan 23
Class meeting
Jan 25
Short paper #2
Class meeting
5
Jan 30
Class meeting
Feb 1
Class meeting
6
Feb 6
Class meeting
Feb 8
Short paper #3
Class meeting
7
Feb 13
Class meeting
Feb 15
Class meeting
8
Feb 20
Class meeting
Feb 22
Short paper #4
Class meeting
9
Feb 27
NO CLASS MEETING
Work on interview
March 1
NO CLASS MEETING
Work on interview
10
March 6
Group #1
In-Class presentations
March 8
Group #2
In-Class presentations
11
March 13
Final paper due in Anthro office at 12:00 pm (noon)