Description
This module will examine the development of representations and debates around AIDS in France from the early 1980s to the close of the twentieth century. The module will take a broadly cultural studies approach and, through the analysis of political and sociological texts, will examine the role of French medical research in the isolation and naming of the virus/disease and the development of French government policy toward the disease in terms of prevention campaigns and political rhetoric. We shall also study, in depth, a range of ‘literary’ and filmic texts which address the issue of AIDS and debates around AIDS. The module will address a range of themes related to these interlinking areas: government policy versus non-government sponsored AIDS activism in France; the setting up and development of self-help organisations; issues related to gender and (gay) sexuality; the individual and different notions of community; the politics of representing and ‘reading’ AIDS. Although the focus will be on AIDS in France, comparison will be made with other countries and cultures in order to highlight some of the ideological and political inflections specific to AIDS in modern France.Ìý
Module deliveries for 2024/25 academic year
Last updated
This module description was last updated on 19th August 2024.
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