THE UNIVERSITY COURSE Spring 2012:
Viral Cultures: HIV/AIDS in Global, Academic, and Cultural Contexts
Mondays from 3-6pm; 322 Candler School of Theology
Course Convenors:
John Blevins (john.blevins@emory.edu)
Kimberley Hagen (kbs.hagen@emory.edu)
Steve Everett (steve.everett@emory.edu)
Donna Troka (dtroka@emory.edu); office hours by appt.
The Rationale:
The idea behind this course is that faculty and students from all units in a university should come together as a single entity to learn about and address an issue of common concern. This practice not only creates intellectual community but enacts a sense of common purpose across the diverse communities at Emory.
Course Description:
In this course undergraduate, graduate, and professional students come together to investigate various aspects of the HIV/AIDS pandemic: epidemiology, cultural history, medicine, business/economics of disease, industry of HIV/AIDS, HIV and global health, law and public policy, representations of HIV/AIDS in literature, popular culture, and the arts, and religion’s role in shaping the meanings of HIV. Through these perspectives, the course will demonstrate the ways in which multi-disciplinary scholarship can deepen our understanding of the complexities of HIV/AIDS in local, national, and global contexts.
Course Objectives:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Practice in critical writing and thinking, discussion, and group work presentation.
- Demonstrate preliminary knowledge of the history and present of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
- Engage with interdisciplinary methods and practices while participating in the class and then apply these methods and practices in assignments and group work.
- Develop and engage analytical, creative, and practical intelligences (Sternberg 2003).
Course Requirements
| Class Participation | 12 points |
| Timeline entries | 10 points |
| Blog entries | 18 points |
| Digital Story Project | 30 points |
| Position Papers | 30 points |
| TOTAL | 100 points |
Class participation (12 points)
This class is based on the educational premise that knowledge is constructed through an (inter) active process rather than absorbed passively. Therefore, the format for the course will be a combination of lecture and discussion, with an emphasis on dialogue and sharing of perspectives. Attendance is crucial to your academic performance; you are expected to be an active and informed participant in all class discussions. In order to do this you must have assigned readings completed by the date on which they first appear on the syllabus. If you miss class, you are responsible for getting notes from a classmate, including any altered assignments or announcements that were made. So it may be prudent to make a new friend early on. You can miss two classes without penalty, after that you will lose participation points. If you are more than ten minutes late, you will be marked absent.
Timeline Entries (10 points; 5 entries @ 2 points each)
Five times during the semester you will be asked to submit entries to our course interactive timeline on HIV/AIDS on Dipity (http://www.dipity.com/dtroka/HIV-AIDS/). The topics for these entries are of your choosing, but try to be creative (i.e. if you are a Biology major, don’t make all five of your entries be about Biology). They can include text, images, and/or video. There are two parts to these entries: 1) a one or two sentence summary of the event that is posted on Dipity. 2) a longer explanation of this event and its impact on HIV/AIDS discourse that is posted on Blackboard (under “timeline entries”-left menu). For undergraduates, these longer explanations should be at least 300-500 words and for graduate students these should be at least 500-700 words. Please make sure you “sign” your entry on Dipity with your name so you can receive credit for it. Those entries and explanations that do not meet the minimum length requirement will not be given full credit. No make-ups or late entries will be accepted.
Blog Entries (18 points; 6 blogs @ 2 points each + 6 comments @ 1 point each)
Six times during the semester you will be asked to write a blog entry in response to the assigned readings on our class blog on Blackboard. You must post your blog entry by 9pm Sunday night so that everyone in the class has time to read it before our class on Monday afternoon. For undergraduates, these posts should be at least 300-500 words and for graduate students these should be at least 500-700 words. You can blog more than six times (we love a robust virtual discussion!) but you will only be graded on the blogs you post on your assigned dates.
During the six weeks you are not required to blog you are required to comment on your peer’s blog posts. These comments don’t have to be long, but they should be substantive (i.e avoid simply saying, “I totally agree” and instead tells us WHY you agree). Please also keep comments respectful and professional. This doesn’t mean you can’t disagree with people, it just means you have to make an argument for why you disagree rather than calling your classmate a knucklehead. You will find out when you have to blog and when you have to comment on the first day of class.
Digital Story Project (30 points; 5 pts. for one minute individual + 25 pts. for group dig. story)
In interdisciplinary groups you will create a digital story about HIV/AIDS. On Emory’s Center for Interactive Teaching (ECIT) website, Digital Storytelling is described as:
the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. Digital Storytelling projects incorporate audio voiceover, music, video, still photography, artwork, documents, and other elements to tell stories about personal experiences, cultural phenomena, and historical events. A completed Digital Storytelling project often resembles a short documentary film and is usually between two and ten minutes in length.[1]
To practice your skills, you will first create a one minute digital story that tells us why you are interested in a class on HIV/AIDS (you might think back to your application for the course for ideas). Only the course conveners will see this assignment. For the larger assignment, you will work in groups to develop a longer digital story that is four to five minutes in length. A more detailed description of the assignment will be distributed in class. These digital stories will be presented and discussed on the last day of class. Group assignments and dates for technology training sessions will be distributed on the first day of class.
Research/”White” Paper (30 points; 3@ 10 points each)
Three times during the semester you will be asked to produce short research or “white” papers on HIV/AIDS from the following perspectives: 1) medical/health science (SOM, SPH, Nursing, Natural Sciences), 2) cultural studies (Humanities, Social Sciences, SPH), and 3) policy (Law, Business, SPH). Using the most prominent search engines and journals (we will provide a list) you will be asked to summarize the most pressing issues today in regards to HIV/AIDS from that perspective. Our goal with this assignment is to urge you not only to begin to learn the content from each area, but also to begin to be exposed to new methodologies and research processes. Undergraduate papers should be 3-5 pages and graduate papers should be 5-7 pages.
All (hard copy) papers should be typed, double-spaced, stapled and have one-inch margins with a standard font size and style (i.e. 10 or 12-point font). They must adhere to the standard research paper format that is appropriate to your field. Papers should have a definite argumentative thesis presented in or near the first paragraph. This thesis will present your argument, which you will support with quotations and other specific details from the text. Your papers should be written in response to course readings and may also refer to textual issues raised in class discussions. Two important cautions: 1) papers should not simply regurgitate class discussion; 2) papers should not be descriptions of the articles, but instead should analyze and synthesize the texts; Always print two copies of your papers and keep one for yourself.
Please note that assignments are due on the dates designated in the syllabus. If an emergency arises and you make arrangements with us ahead of time, we may agree to accept a late assignment. If we do not agree or if you have not made prior arrangements with us, you will receive a lower grade. Be aware that our definition of “emergency” includes such things as “major cardiac surgery” and “being in labor” and not “I am hung over” or “I have another paper to write.”
Should you need assistance with writing, you may want to use the Writing Center. For more in this area, please call the Writing Center at 404.727.6451, check out their website at: http://writingcenter.emory.edu/ or visit them at Room 212 Callaway Center North.
If you are a student with a disability, you may receive extra assistance from the Office of Disability Student Services located at 110 Administration Building, their phone number is 404.727.9877, and their website is: http://www.ods.emory.edu/about.htm . Please also contact Donna Troka (dtroka@emory.edu) if you have any type of disability and she can discuss how it may or may not affect your participation in this class.
Please read and abide by the Emory University honor code. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism or academic dishonestly, please discuss them with me BEFORE handing in your work. For more on this go to: http://college.emory.edu/home/academic/policy/honor_code.html
Please make sure all cellular phones and pagers are turned off throughout our entire class session. If it becomes an annoyance, you will lose participation points.
Please also be certain to always bring (hard or virtual) copies of the articles we are discussing in class.
We reserve the right to make changes in this schedule if the need arises. Necessary changes will be announced in class.
The University Course faculty includes:
Deepika Bahri, Emory College- English
John Blevins, School of Public Health & Candler School of Theology
Steve Culler, School of Public Health
James Curran, School of Public Health
Carlos Del Rio, School of Public Health
Kristin Dunkle, School of Public Health
Steve Everett, Emory College- Music
Gene Farber, School of Medicine
Kimberley Hagen, School of Public Health
Marcia Holstad, School of Nursing
Hank Klibanoff, Emory College- Journalism
Paula Kocher, CDC
Vince Marconi, School of Medicine
Edward Queen, Center for Ethics
Sita Ranchod-Nilsson, Institute of Developing Nations
David Rimland, School of Medicine
Harriet Robinson, School of Medicine/Emeritus College
Ira Schwartz, School of Medicine
Rob Stephenson, School of Public Health
Claire Sterk, School of Public Health
Liv Nilsson Stutz, Emory College- Anthropology
Colin Talley, School of Public Health
Sandy Thurman, School of Public Health
Donna Troka, Emory College- Institute of Liberal Arts
Liza Vertinsky, Law School
Eddy Von Mueller, Emory College- Film Studies
Kate Winskell, School of Public Health
Frank Wong, School of Public Health
CLASS SCHEDULE:
January 23: Week One
John Blevins, School of Public Health & Candler School of Theology
Hank Klibanoff, Emory College- Journalism
Reading:
- Klibanoff, Hank. “Teenager with AIDS is Spurned Again in Bid to Attend School.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 17, 1985.
- Klibanoff, Hank. “To Be 13 and Doomed with AIDS: Schools in Session, But Indiana Boy is Locked Out.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 25, 1985.
- Crimp, Douglas. “Portraits of People with AIDS,” in Melancholia and Morality: Essays on AIDS and Queer Politics (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002). 1-15.
January 30: Week Two
Ira Schwartz, School of Medicine
Felicia Guest, School of Medicine
Gene Farber, School of Medicine
Reading:
- Gottlieb, Michael S. “AIDS: Past and Future.” New England Journal of Medicine. Vol. 344, No. 23. 1788-1791.
- El-Sadr, Wafaa M. “AIDS in America- Forgotten but Not Gone.” New England Journal of Medicine. Vol. 362, No. 11. 967-970.
- Klinkenberg, W.D. et al. “Mental Disorders and Drug Abuse in Persons Living with HIV/AIDS.” AIDS Care, 2004: 16 (Supplement 1): S22-S42.
Dr. Troka shows her one minute digital story
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) BLOG
February 6: Week Three
David Rimland, School of Medicine
Marcia Holstad, School of Nursing
Vince Marconi, School of Medicine
Steve Culler, School of Public Health
Reading:
- Gallant, Joel, et al. “Essential Components of Effective HIV Care: A Policy Paper of the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases of America and Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition.” CID 2011:53 (1 December) 1043- 1050.
- Hongoro, Charles, et al. “A Cost Analysis of a Hospital-Based Palliative Care Outreach Program: Implications for Expanding Public Sector Palliative Care in South Africa.” Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. Volume 41, No. 6, June 2011. 1015-1024.
- Resch S, Korenromp E, Stover J, Blakley M, Krubiner C, et al. (2011) Economic Returns to Investment in AIDS Treatment in Low and Middle Income
Countries. PLoS ONE 6(10): e25310. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0025310
- Sweeney, Sedona, et al. “Costs and Efficiency of Integrating HIV/AIDS Services with Other Health Services: A Systematic Review of Evidence and Experience.” Sex Trasm Infect (2011). doi: 10.1136/sextrans-2011-050199
- AIDS Info Fact Sheets: HIV and Its Treatment. November 2011.
- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report/ December 2, 2011/ Vol. 60. / No. 47 pgs. 1618-1623
- Harris, Jeffrey E. “Why We Don’t Have a HIV Vaccine, and How We Can Develop One.” Health Affairs, 28, no. 6 (2009): 1642-1654.
- Folland, Sherman, et al. The Economics of Health and Health Care. Prentice Hall, 2010. 154-158.
- Cohen, M.S., Y.Q. Chen, et al. “Prevention of HIV-1 Infection with Early Antiretroviral Therapy.” New England Journal of Medicine. 365 (6): 493-505.
- Holstad, M.M., Dilorio, C., McCarty, F. (2011). Adherence, Sexual Risk, and Viral Load in HIV infected Women Prescribed Antiretroviral Therapy. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 25 (7), 431-438.
- Holstad, M.M., DiIorio, C., Kelley, M.E., Resnicow, K., Sharma, S. (2011). Group motivational interviewing to promote adherence to antiretroviral medications and risk reduction behaviors in HIV infected women. AIDS and Behavior, 15(5), 885-896
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) BLOG
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) COMMENT
February 13: Week Four
Edward Queen, Center for Ethics
Kimberley Hagen, School of Public Health
Harriet Robinson, School of Medicine/Emeritus College
Reading:
- http://www.owen.org/blog/2717
- Buchbinder, Susan et al. “ Efficacy assessment of a cell mediated immunity HIV-1 vaccine (the Step Study): a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, test of concept trial.” Lancet 2008; 372: 1881-93.
- Rerks-Ngarm, Supachi, et al. “Vaccination with ALVAC and AIDSVAX to Prevent HIV-1 Infection in Thailand.” The New England Journal of Medicine. Volume 361. No. 23. December 3, 2009. 2209-2220.
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) BLOG
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) COMMENT
February 20: Week Five
Kristin Dunkle, School of Public Health
Carlos Del Rio, School of Public Health
Reading:
- Higgins, Jenny A. et al. “Rethinking Gender, Heterosexual Men, And Women’s Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.” American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 100, No. 3. March 2010. 435-445.
- Silverman, Jay G. “Key to Prevent HIV in Women: Reduce Gender-Based Violence.”
www.thelancet.com Vol. 376. July 3, 2010. 6-7.
- Jewkes, Rachel K. et al. “Intimate Partner Violence, Relationship Power Inequity, and Incidence of HIV infection in Young Women in South Africa: A Cohort Story.” www.thelancet.com June 16, 2010. 1-8. *focus on intro & discussion*
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) BLOG
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) COMMENT
PAPER ONE DUE
February 27: Week Six
Claire Sterk, School of Public Health
Sandy Thurman, School of Public Health
Reading:
- “Out of Harm’s Way: Injecting Drug Users and Harm Reduction.” December 2010. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Advocacy Report.
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) BLOG
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) COMMENT
ONE MINUTE DIGITAL STORIES DUE
March 5: Week Seven
Sita Ranchod-Nilsson, Institute of Developing Nations
Deepika Bahri, Emory College- English
Reading:
- Bahri, Deepika. “Partners In Prevention: AIDS Prevention and Control in Tamil Nadu.”
- Ranchod-Nilsson, Sita. “Gender Politics and the Pendulum and Social Transformation in Zimbabwe.” Journal of African Studies. Vol. 32, No.1. March 2006. 49-67.
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) BLOG
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) COMMENT
March 19: Week Eight
John Blevins, School of Public Health & Candler School of Theology
Donna Troka, Emory College- Institute of Liberal Arts
Reading:
- Gould, Deborah B. “Life During Wartime: Emotions and the Development of ACT UP,” Mobilization: An International Journal 2002; 7(2): 177-200.
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) BLOG
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) COMMENT
PAPER TWO DUE
March 26: Week Nine
Colin Talley, School of Public Health
Frank Wong, School of Public Health
Rob Stephenson, School of Public Health
Reading:
- Stephenson, Robert et al. “Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Risk-taking among Men Who Have Sex with Men in South Africa.” Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 12 (3); July 2011. 343-347.
- Stephenson, Rob et al. “Attitudes Towards Couples-Based HIV Testing Among MSM in Three US Cities.” AIDS Behav (2011) 15; S80-S87.
- Sullivan, Patrick S. et al. “Estimating the proportion of HIV transmissions from main sex partners among men who have sex with men in five US cities.” AIDS 2009; 1-10.
- Wei, Chongyi et al. “STD Prevalence, Risky Sexual Behaviors, and Sex with Women in a National Sample of Chinese Men Who Have Sex with Women.” American Journal of Public Health. Vol. 99, No. 11. November 2009. 1978-1981
- Wong, Frank Y. et al. “STIS and HIV Among Men Having Sex with Men in China: A Ticking Time Bomb?” AIDS Education and Prevention. 21 (5), 2009. 430-446.
- Rubin, Gayle, “Elegy for the Valley of Kings: AIDS and the Leather Community in San Francisco, 1981-1996.” In Changing Times: Gay Men and Lesbians Encounter HIV/AIDS. Ed. Martin P. Levine. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. 101-44.
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) BLOG
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) COMMENT
April 2: Week Ten
Liv Nilsson Stutz, Emory College- Anthropology
John Blevins, School of Public Health & Candler School of Theology
Reading:
- Niehaus, Isak. “Death Before Dying: Understanding AIDS Stigma in the South African Lowveld.” Journal of South African Studies, Volume 33, Number 4, December 2007. 845-860.
- Allen, Peter Lewis. The Wages of Sin: Sex and Disease, Past and Present (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000). (Chapter Six)
- Henley Long, Kate. “On Sex, Sin, and Silence: an Islamic Theology of Storytelling for AIDS Awareness,” in Islam and AIDS: Between Scorn, Pity, and Justice (Oxford: One World Publications, 2009).
- Jackson, Peter Anthony. “Thai Buddhist Accounts of Male Homosexuality and AIDS in the 1980s,” The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 1995; 6(3): 142-153.
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) BLOG
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) COMMENT
April 9: Week Eleven
Kate Winskell, School of Public Health
Eddy Von Mueller, Emory College- Film Studies
Reading:
- Winskell, Kate and Daniel Enger, “Young Voices Travel Far: A Case Study of Scenarios from Africa”, chapter in: Hemer, Oscar and Thomas Tufte (eds.), Media and Global Change: Rethinking Communication for Development, Buenas Aires: Clasco, 2005
- Winskell, Kate, Oby Obyerodhyambo, Rob Stephenson, “Making sense of condoms: social representations in young Africans’ HIV-related narratives from six countries,” Social Science & Medicine, 72 (2011) 953-961
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) BLOG
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) COMMENT
April 16: Week Twelve
Liza Vertinsky, Law School
Paula Kocher, CDC
Reading:
- Butler, Declan & Natasha Gilbert. “Drug Patent Plan Gets Mixed Reviews.” Nature. Vol. 457, No. 26. February 2009. 1064-1065.
- Zimmeren, Esther van. “Patent Pools and Clearinghouses in the Life Sciences.” Trends in Biotechnology. Vol. 29, No. 11, November 2011. 570-576.
- Hoen, Ellen T. “Driving a Decade of Change: HIV/AIDS, Patents, and Access to All Medicines for All.” Journal of the International AIDS Society. 14:15, 2011. 1-12.
- Gostin, Lawrence O. “Piercing the Veil of Secrecy: Partner Notification, the Right to Know, and the Duty to Warn.” AIDS Pandemic: Complacency, Injustice, and Unfulfilled Expectations. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. 167-178.
- Gostin, Lawrence O. “The Criminal Law: Knowing or Willful Exposure to Infection.” AIDS Pandemic: Complacency, Injustice, and Unfulfilled Expectations. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004. 185-198.
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) BLOG
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) COMMENT
PAPER THREE DUE
April 23: Week Thirteen
James Curran, School of Public Health
Reading:
- Curran, James W. and Harold W. Jaffe. “AIDS: The Early Years and CDC’s Response.” MMWR Vol. 60: 66-71.
- Venkat Narayn, K.M, et al. “Global Noncommunicable Diseases- Lessons from the HIV-AIDS Experience.” N ENGL MED 365; 10. September 8, 2011. 876-878.
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) BLOG
A-L (Amalfard-Lacy) COMMENT
M-Z (Mikulich-Stein) COMMENT
Project Presentations
April 30: Week Fourteen
Project Presentations
Course Evaluation
Viral Cultures: HIV/AIDS in Global, Academic, and Cultural Contexts 
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