Books & ideas

AIDS, Africa, and the Myth of “Sexual Behavior”

Julie Castro — 2016-04-21T08:37:00Z

Is the scale of the African AIDS epidemic tied to a specific type of sexual behavior? By considering different versions of this hypothesis, Julie Castro shows that it is not based on indisputable evidence and that it rests upon essentializing cultural representations, which help to obscure other forms of transmission.

AIDS & Biocapitalisation

Pierre-Marie David & Gabriel Girard & Vinh-Kim Nguyen — 2015-11-12T08:00:00Z

The end of the AIDS epidemic is not only a public health objective, it is also a project that involves the extension of medications market and an investment in infected bodies. This essay examines the politics of this medicalisation and its risks, with the concept of biocapitalisation.

Searching for the Origins of AIDS

Guillaume Lachenal — 2015-07-01T22:00:00Z

The question of the origin of AIDS has given rise to a wealth of studies. Moving away from conspiracy theories or culturalist readings, Guillaume Lachenal shows that the key issue is retracing the colonial, epidemiological, and sexual context that fostered the propagation of the virus rather than identifying a specific cause.