We will explore how HIV/AIDS has been portrayed in diverse genres through the perspectives of the scientist and the literary critic. This class engages students in a transdisciplinary conversation about representations of HIV/AIDS: in science writing, journalism, visual art, literature, drama, and popular culture.
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We believe that scientists and cultural critics can learn valuable lessons from one another, even as they create their own responses to HIV/AIDS. Today, over 30 years since the first scientific reports of HIV/AIDS, the pandemic remains a major health concern throughout the world.
But, rays of hope have led to speculation that an AIDS-free generation may be possible. In such a timely moment, it is essential for us to connect across the "two cultures" as we consider the social and scientific implications of HIV/AIDS.
What you'll learn
- The basics of how to do literary analysis and how to read a scientific article
- The basics of the biology of HIV/AIDS
- What the arts and sciences have in common in creating knowledge
- How words and images reflect the evolving history of HIV/AIDS
- What we can learn from the personal experiences of those living with HIV/AIDS
- Current developments and controversies in HIV/AIDS and how the arts & sciences have responded to them
- Why it matters that artists & scientists talk to one another
