The Politics of the Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic
PLSC 120: Global Issues
Instructor: Laurel Sprague
Office hours: M/W 3:30-5:00
(Wednesday hours held at Sweetwater Café on Cross Street)
Office location: 601E Pray-Harrold
Email: lspragu2@emich.edu
Fall 2013
Class hours: M/ W 11:00-12:15
Class location: Marshall 119
Office phone: 734 487 6970
COURSE OVERVIEW
This course is designed to introduce students to the political and social aspects of the global HIV/AIDS
pandemic and other global diseases. The course examines the current status of the epidemic world-wide,
including the latest science about HIV transmission and treatment for people living with HIV. In this course,
students will explore the climate of optimism (characterized by statements that an AIDS-free world is within
reach) mixed with dread (due to the drastic drop in funding commitments) that characterizes the global
response to the pandemic at present. Questions to be explored include the following:
 What are the origins of the AIDS pandemic and why have many governments been slow to
respond?
 What is the role of human rights in a public health disaster, such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic?
 How do stigma and discrimination against people with HIV, as well as biases against affected
communities (such as women and girls, gay men, racial and ethnic minorities, migrants, people who
use drugs, and sex workers) interact with the HIV/AIDS response?
 How, if at all, should criminal justice systems be used in the HIV/AIDS response?
 Why was the early response by people living with HIV in North America, and their friends, families,
and communities, so fervent (i.e. ACT UP) and how did these self-empowerment movements shape
the response to the pandemic to this day?
 How destructive has the pandemic been in Sub-Saharan Africa and how have governments and
communities responded? What has been the effect on women and girls?
 What can be done to address the epidemic in Eastern Europe, the only region in the world in which
new HIV infections are continuing to rise?
 How have Asian and Pacific people living with HIV and from affected communities organized to
protect access to medication and fight for human rights?
 Has the criminalization and bias against gay men and lesbians in many Caribbean countries
hindered the public health response?
 What is happening in Latin America and why do we hear so little about the pandemic there?
 What is the current state of the international response? Will this help to turn the tide of the
pandemic?
 Current research advances: Is there hope for a cure?
This course fulfils a Gen Ed requirement for Perspectives on a Diverse World, Global Awareness. From the
Course Catalogue:
People of diverse cultural and national backgrounds and experiences are relating to each other much more
frequently and intensively, all around the world, than ever before. Global trade, the internet, climate,
migration, terrorism, and concepts of human rights are just a few of the many types of interactions that are
bringing distant people together in ways that may involve conflict or collaboration. This course will help
develop awareness of the changing global context in which we live, of the importance of appreciating
diverse perspectives, and of the need for building bridges of communication and tolerance to address shared
global challenges. Many global issues are controversial and subject to varying perspectives. Each semester,
the course will focus on a particular contemporary global issue (such as terrorism, genocide, human rights,
global gender issues, ethnic identity and conflict, migration, and democratization), not to find a single
“correct” solution, but rather to develop skills in analyzing diverse interpretations and considering our own
roles and civic responsibilities on a global scale.
Required Texts
 Whiteside, Alan. 2008. HIV/AIDS: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. ISBN-10:
0192806920
 Joao Biehl and Adrian Petryna. 2013. When People Come First: Critical Studies in Global Health.
Princeton University Press. ISBN-10: 0691157391
 Farmer, Paul. 2012. Haiti After the Earthquake. Public Affairs (Publisher). ISBN-10: 1610390989
 Additional texts as provided in class or on-line
Students are expected to read the assigned texts before each class period and come prepared to ask
questions and discuss the readings.
Evaluation
Your grade in the class will be based on the following:
Participation
Quizzes (3)
Autobiography analysis
20%
20%
25%
Country report
40%
(15% for country group meetings, 25% for the final
report)
Participation
Participation is critical for a class on politics. To engage in political analysis, it is necessary to hear a variety
of thoughts and opinions and to put your own thoughts into the marketplace of ideas. Your participation
grade is based on the overall quality, rather than quantity, of your contributions throughout the semester.
Quality of contributions will be based on your willingness to:
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raise questions from the text and lectures
 share your thoughts and ideas
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think critically about your own opinions
 listen thoughtfully to the ideas of others
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engage actively, consistently, and
responsibly with your regional group
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evaluate, respectfully, the ideas and opinions put
forward in the class
Participation includes the presentation of a short summary (5 minutes) in class of the main points of one
article or chapter.
Quizzes (3)
Three quizzes will be administered throughout the semester. The quizzes are designed to evaluate your
mastery of the basic information that is needed in order to write and speak intelligently about the issues
that surround the HIV/AIDS pandemic and global health more broadly. Your lowest quiz grade will be
dropped. You will not be allowed to make up quizzes except under exceptional circumstances.
Autobiography analysis
Students will be provided with a list of autobiographies of people living with HIV from different parts of the
world. For this assignment, students will read one autobiography from the list and write a short analysis (35 pages) applying the concepts studied in class to the autobiography.
Country reports
This class is project-oriented and students will conduct their own research on the HIV epidemic in one
country. Students will use data from the U.S. government and the United Nations Joint Programme on
HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other global bodies to complete a report (approximately 4-5 pages) describing the
HIV epidemic and response. A key component of the country reports will be the creation of country
recommendations based on the information available about the HIV epidemic in that country. Students will
be placed in groups based on country regions and meet with me in regional groups to craft these
recommendations.
Grades
The grading scale for the class is as follows:
A
93-100 percent
B80-82.9 percent
D+
67-69.9 percent
A90-92.9 percent
C+
77-79.9 percent
D
63-66.9 percent
B+
87-89.9 percent
C
73-76.9 percent
D60-62.9 percent
B
83-86.9 percent
C70-72.9 percent
F
<59.9 percent
If an assignment is turned in late, a reduction of ½ grade will be levied for each day that it is late.
Useful websites
The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS: www.unaids.org
AIDSInfo: http://www.unaids.org/en/dataanalysis/tools/aidsinfo/
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria: http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/default.htm
Avert, International HIV/AIDS Charity: www.avert.org
Human Rights Watch: http://www.hrw.org/hiv/tb
The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+): www.gnpplus.net
International Treatment Preparedness Coalition: http://www.itpcglobal.org/
The Global Forum on MSM and HIV: http://www.msmgf.org/
Communicating with the Instructor
It will be easiest to contact me via email. I respond to all email messages during the week within 24 hours.
It may be longer over the weekend. If you need to speak with me during my office hours or to leave a
message, contact the political science department office at: 734 487 3113.
You are urged to use your EMU email address. I will use the EMU email addresses if I need to
communicate information to the class, for example, if there is an unexpected class cancellation. If you
choose to communicate with me using another email address, identify yourself clearly in the subject line.
You should know that I delete messages when I do not know the sender to protect my system from email
viruses.
Discussion Guidelines
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Listen closely to one another. This includes trying to verify that you understand what the other
person is saying, particularly when you disagree.
Speak respectfully, in agreement and disagreement. Do not interrupt each other.
Allow each other to change. No one is bound to any one statement. Anyone can change her or his
mind.
Understand that no student in this class can be asked to speak for her or his racial, ethnic, religious,
or any other, group. No group is homogenous. Each of us speaks as a unique individual with our own
opinions and experiences.
General Guidelines for Behavior in College Classrooms
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Turn off your cell phone and computer before class starts.
If you need to leave early, let the instructor know ahead of time.
Arrive a few minutes before class so that class can start on time without interruptions.
Do not engage in side conversations during lectures and discussions.
Do not read newspapers, magazines, web pages, or any other materials not related to class during
class time.
Arrive ready to discuss the day’s topic and readings.
Use class email addresses and instructors’ email addresses only for class-related questions and
information.
If you are absent, it is your responsibility to get the information from the class you missed from
another student. Make friends.
Accessibility
If you have a disability and are registered with the Student s with Disabilities office, please see me
during the first week of class. We will set up a meeting to determine how we can best work together to
ensure that you are able to fully and fairly participate in all aspects of the class. Please bring your
paperwork from EAS to our meeting.
To contact the Students with Disabilities Office, go to http://www.emich.edu/drc/index.html.
Academic Honesty
Students are expected to know and abide by all University rules on academic honesty and deportment.
If you are uncertain of your responsibilities as a student, consult the Student Conduct Code. The full text
is available at http://www.emich.edu/policies/chapter8/8-1_policy.pdf. Any violation of provisions on
academic honesty will be prosecuted to the full extent allowable.
Here are some examples of the kinds of actions that constitute academic dishonesty:
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“Plagiarizing—willfully presenting the language, ideas, or thoughts of another person as one’s
original work;
Revealing the form or content of an examination or quiz; attempting to secure a copy of or
information about a future examination or quiz without authorization from the instructor;
Copying another’s answers in an in-class or take-home examination, paper, laboratory work, or
class assignment; using crib notes, prepared blue books, or other types of unauthorized
materials;
Discussing answers during an in-class examination or a take-home examination without the
instructor’s permission;
Submitting work completed for a previous course for a subsequent course without the
permission of the instructor; submitting the same paper in two or more concurrent courses
without the informed consent of the instructors;
Stealing, damaging, or concealing materials or equipment necessary to the academic well-being
of the college community, such as library books, computer files, and audiovisual equipment.”1
Registration Information and Dates
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Incomplete grades are not a matter of right. An "I" grade will be granted only in the most highly
unusual circumstances. University policy requires all incompletes to be completed within one
year.
If you need to drop this class, you must do so by the official drop date. If you fail to drop this
class officially by the last official drop date and you are failing to class, you will be given a grade
of F for the course.
NOTE: The University (as per federal guidelines) requires all instructors to indicate whether any
students who received an F grade stopped attending classes. If you stop attending the class and
receive an F, your financial aid may be at risk.
Disclaimer: I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus, examination, and/or grading policy if
required during the course of the semester.
1
These examples are taken from Washington College’s Honor code: http://catalog.washcoll.edu/17_honor.html
READING SCHEDULE
Week 1
Sept 4
Introduction
Week 2
Sept 9 and 11 The language of public health and illness
Guest speaker: Todd Heywood, Senior Reporter, American Independent News Network on the
history of public health
Sontag, Susan (1989) AIDS and its Metaphors, Chapters 1-3, 5 and 8
Farmer, “Writing about Suffering”
Week 3
Sept 16 and 18 History of HIV and HIV transmission
McNeil, D. G. Jr (2011) “Chimp to Man to History Books: The Path of AIDS” The New York Times,
October 17, 2011.
Whiteside, Chapters 1-2
Farmer, Chapters 1-2
Week 4
Sept 23 and 25 Current HIV prevalence
UNAIDS World AIDS Day Report, 2012
http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2012/gr2012
/JC2434_WorldAIDSday_results_en.pdf
HIV/AIDS in the U.S.: At a Glance http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/statistics_basics_factsheet.pdf
HIV/AIDS in the U.S. by Geographical Distribution
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/statistics_geographic_distribution.pdf
Whiteside, Chapters 3-4
Guest speaker: Jimena Loveluck, Executive Director, HIV/AIDS Resource Center
Week 5
Sept 30 and Oct 2 Responses by people living with HIV
The Denver Principles (1983)
http://www.actupny.org/documents/Denver.html
Strub, Sean (2011). The Denver Principles and the PLWHIV Self-Empowerment Movement.
GNP+, UNAIDS. 2011. Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention: A Policy Framework.
Amsterdam, GNP+. http://www.gnpplus.net/images/stories/PHDP/GNP_PHDP_ENG_V4ia_2.pdf
Film: How to Survive a Plague
Week 6
Oct 7 and 9 Global response
Biehl and Petryna, Chapter 1, “A Return to the Magic Bullet?” by Marcus Cueto
Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS: Intensifying our Efforts to Eliminate HIV/AIDS
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 10 June 2011
http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/document/2011/06/20110
610_UN_A-RES-65-277_en.pdf
Whiteside, Chapters 5-6
Farmer, Chapters 3-4
Week 7
Oct 14 and 16
Global response and human rights
Biehl and Petryna, Chapter 6, “The Struggle for a Public Sector” by James Pfeiffer
International Declaration of Human Rights
Farmer, Chapters 5-6
Week 8
Oct 21 and 23 Human rights
Biehl and Petryna, Chapter 3, “The Right to Know or Know Your Rights?” by Joseph Amon
Biehl and Petryna, Chapter 12, “Legal Remedies”
Farmer, Chapter 7-8, Epilogue, and Afterword
Week 9
Oct 28 and 30
Stigma and Discrimination
F Kohi, Thecla W, Makoae, Lucy, et al., (2006). HIV and AIDS Stigma Violates Human
Rights in Five African Countries. Nursing Ethics, 13(4), 404-15.
Aggleton, Peter and Kate Wood, et al., (2005) HIV-Related Stigma, Discrimination and
Human Rights Violations: Case Studies of Successful Programmes, Geneva: UNAIDS,
April 2005, Selections TBD.
http://data.unaids.org/publications/irc-pub06/jc999-humrightsviol_en.pdf
Cameron, E., Burris, S., and Clayton, M. (2008) HIV is a virus, not a crime: ten reasons
against criminal statutes and criminal prosecutions. Journal of the International AIDS
Society. http://aidslex.org/site_documents/CR-0023E.pdf
Film: HIV is not a Crime, The Sero Project (2011)
Week 10
Nov 4 and 6
Human rights and women; Human rights and children
UNAIDS Statement: Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective
(Geneva 27: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, 2005), 1-2.
Violence Against Women and HIV: Informational Fact Sheet, Global Coalition on Women and
AIDS and World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/gender/en/infosheetvawandhiv.pdf
Film: Positive Women: Exposing Injustice, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network (2012)
Biehl and Petryna, Chapter 4, “Children as Victims” by Didier Fassin
Nolen, S. (2007), 28 Stories of AIDS in Africa, Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf (selections to be provided).
Week 11
Nov 11 and 13
Human rights and LGBT people, sex workers, and people who use drugs
United Nations (2012). Born Free and Equal: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in
International Human Rights Law. Pp. 1-13.
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/BornFreeAndEqualLowRes.pdf
Ralf Jürgens, Joanne Csete, Joseph J Amon, Stefan Baral, Chris Beyrer (2010). People who use
drugs, HIV, and human rights. The Lancet; 376: 475–485.
UNAIDS (2000). Female sex worker HIV prevention projects: Lessons learnt from Papua New
Guinea, India and Bangladesh. http://data.unaids.org/Publications/IRC-pub05/JC438FemSexWork_en.pdf (Selections)
Week 12
Federation of Woman Lawyers Kenya (2008). Documenting Human Rights Violations of Sex
Workers in Kenya.
http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/fida_20081201.pdf
Nov 18 and 21
Country group meetings
Week 13
Nov 25 and 27 Access to treatment
Treatment Action Campaign (2010) Fighting for our lives: The history of the Treatment Action
Campaign 1998-2010
Galvão,J. (2005) Brazil and Access to HIV/AIDS Drugs: A Question of Human Rights and Public
Health. American Journal of Public Health. Washington: Jul 2005. Vol. 95, Iss. 7; pg. 1110-1117.
No classes on November 27, Thanksgiving Break
Week 14
Dec 2 and 4
Access to treatment
TAC Open Letter to USTR Regarding Concerns with US Pressure to Restrict India’s Generic
Medicines Industry, 23 July 2013. http://www.tac.org.za/news/tac-open-letter-ustrregarding-concerns-us-pressure-restrict-india%E2%80%99s-generic-medicines-industry
Médecins sans Frontières Access Campaign Briefing Note. Trading away Health: The
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).
http://www.msfaccess.org/sites/default/files/MSF_assets/Access/Docs/Access_Briefing_
TPP_ENG_2013.pdf
Bollyky TJ (2013) Access to Drugs for Treatment of Noncommunicable Diseases. PLoS Med
10(7): e1001485. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001485.
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001485
Biehl and Petryna, Chapter 10, “Labor Instability and Community Mental Health” by Clara
Han
Week 15
Dec 9 and 11
Research for a cure
No readings
Quiz 3: Monday, December 18, 11:00 to 12:30
Due Dates
October 2
October 28
November 6
Quiz 1
Quiz 2
Autobiography analysis due
November 18 and 21
December 9
December 18
County group meetings
Country report due
Quiz 3