Thinking Differently About HIV/AIDS : Contributions from Critical Social Science

Almost four decades after the scientific discovery of HIV/AIDS, the world continues to grapple with this public health challenge. A successful response requires thinking differently about the epidemic, but what type of thinking can facilitate effective change? Thinking Differently about HIV/AIDS explores the limits of mainstream approaches to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and challenges readers to develop alternate solutions, placing particular emphasis on the value of critical social science perspectives. The contributors investigate traditions of inquiry – governmentality studies, institutional ethnography, Indigenous knowledges, conversation analysis, actor-network theory, critical ethnography, and others – to determine what these perspectives can bring to HIV/AIDS research, policy, and prevention programming. Engaging with various knowledge frameworks, they examine the criminalization of HIV, epidemiological and media constructions of the epidemic, HIV non-disclosure, treatment adherence, and other topics. This book is the first Canadian anthology of critical social science perspectives on HIV/AIDS, demonstrating how and why critical social science is necessary for rethinking research and action required to address the epidemic.