Search Modules > USE2307 > Module Overview

Learning Outcomes

TopIn the past 30 years HIV/AIDS has gone from being an unknown disease to being one of the key issues of the 20th and 21st centuries, killing millions and threatening entire nations and even continents. Although AIDS is a medical condition, it is far more than that. An understanding of the phenomena associated with HIV/AIDS requires multiple approaches and input from multiple academic disciplines. Among the questions to be addressed in this module are the following. What is it about HIV that makes this virus so dangerous and deadly? Why has HIV spread as quickly as it has? What steps can be taken to prevent further spread? How do people cope with a diagnosis of being HIV positive? How does the public understand AIDS? How is it portrayed in literature, film and art? What are the political and economic implications of HIV/AIDS? What human rights questions are raised by AIDS? This module explores the various aspects of this disease from the perspective of multiple academic disciplines ranging from microbiology on through psychology, sociology, art, literature, economics, public health, geography and political science. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the various phenomena involved from multiple perspectives so as to grasp the overall significance of HIV/AIDS in a holistic fashion.

By the end of this module you will have been introduced to the various ways in which a single disease can be understood from multiple perspectives so as to have an understanding of the various phenomena in their multiplicity. As such this module illustrates the ways in which problems can be understood from a variety of perspectives and through the lenses of different disciplines

Teaching Modes

TopThis module will be a seminar in which students take an active role in leading discussion.

Schedule

TopTuesday & Thursday, noon to 2 pm, SR1

Syllabus

Top14 Jan: Introduction
16 Jan: Immunology of HIV/AIDS
21 Jan: Medical treatments for HIV/AIDS
23 Jan: Discussion of writing assignments
28 Jan: In the beginning: Early history of the epidemic
30 Jan: Epidemiology of HIV transmission
04 Feb: Modelling the epidemic
06 Feb: Individual, societal and political factors in prevention
11 Feb: HIV and migration
13 Feb: Field trip to CDC
18 Feb: Interventions for HIV prevention I
20 Feb: Interventions for HIV prevention II
25 & 27 Feb: Recess week
04 Mar: Managing HIV infection - Psychosocial issues
06 Mar: Legal perspectives - HIV/AIDS and human rights
11 Mar: HIV and the family
13 Mar: Addressing HIV stigma
18 Mar: HIV/AIDS and religion
20 Mar: HIV/AIDS in literature
25Mar: HIV/AIDS in film and television
27 Mar: Using the arts to fight HIV/AIDS
01 Apr: Economics of HIV/AIDS and health policy I
03 Apr: Economics of HIV/AIDS and health policy II
08 Apr: Politics of HIV/AIDS and health policy
10 Apr: HIV/AIDS in global perspective
15 Apr: Summary and overview
17 Apr: Exam

Assessment

TopYour grade in this module will depend on an exam over the material covered in the module as well three short papers and your leadership of one of the class discussions. The exam is scheduled for 17 April and will cover all of the material in the module. This exam counts for 30% of your overall grade. The three papers will each count 20% of your grade. The writing assignments and due dates are detailed separately. The final 10% of your grade will be based on your performance in leading class discussion for one of the topics. During the semester each of you will be assigned one of the topics on which to lead discussion. This assignment will be based to the extent possible on your preferences that will be collected on the first day of class.