Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2019 - GSWS 320 D200

Special Topics in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies (4)

Forty Years of AIDS

Class Number: 2066

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 3 – Dec 2, 2019: Mon, 9:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Vaibhav Saria

  • Prerequisites:

    15 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A specific theme within within the field of gender, sexuality, and women's studies, not otherwise covered in depth in regularly scheduled courses, will be dealt with as occasion and demand warrant.

COURSE DETAILS:

It has been almost forty years since the HIV/AIDS pandemic changed the contours of our social world. The pandemic has seen moments of mass panic, fear, and urgency with increasing numbers of infections and deaths in the 80s and 90s and eventually transformed forever the way people negotiated sex, love, life, and death. Though the advent of more and more sophisticated ART medications is making living with HIV possible, are we actually beyond the point of crisis as is now being claimed?  

This course assesses the wide reaching social, cultural, and political impact of the pandemic and critically engages with the ethical questions it continues to raise. We read across disciplines to understand how sexuality and health intersect and explore various questions such as: What does barebacking reveal about us and relatedly, why are condoms so difficult to use? Is PrEP/ Truvada the magic bullet we’ve been waiting for? What are the relationships between drug use (Party and Play /PnP) and sex? By the end of this course students will be able to think about the relationship between sexuality, pleasure, suffering, and forms of being in this world.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

For more detailed information please see the GSWS website: http://www.sfu.ca/gsws/courses/Educational_Goals.html

Grading

  • Attendance 10%
  • Midterm Essay 1 30%
  • Midterm Essay 2 30%
  • Final Paper 30%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

AIDS and its Metaphors by Susan Sontag

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS