PBH 245 - AIDS/HIV in the Lehigh Valley

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR: Meets general academic requirement IL.
This course is designed as an introduction to science communication and archive studies as they inform public health, focusing on understanding and presenting new narratives of the history of HIV/AIDS in the Lehigh Valley. We will explore how the information scientists produce gets to other scientists, the media, policymakers, and the public at large, with a focus on how this process impacted and impacts the response to HIV/AIDS. Students will examine the history of the field of science communication, challenges with current models of scientific communication, and case studies from the current literature. The course additionally introduces the principles and practices that archivists and records managers apply, including appraisal, arrangement, preservation, and management, within the context of exploring the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Archive, including the newly acquired archives of Fighting AIDS Continuously Together (FACT). We will work with several community partners to discover and present the story of HIV and AIDS in the Lehigh Valley, as well as using current and archival materials to compare the history of HIV and AIDS in the Lehigh Valley to that of the larger U.S. narrative.