Due Wednesday

Please note: Also due Wednesday 4/9 is your article citation for the Article Annotation assignment. Post the full citation in your Contact Linda forum (article title, author, journal name, date, page numbers) and I will give approval. After you've received approval you may begin working on the article assignment.

The 1980s: AIDS and ACT-UP

Due Wednesday, 4/9, 9 a.m. Upload to D2L Assessments>Assignment Dropbox. 20 LA points.

Materials to read and watch:

1. "Patient Zero" -- a chapter in And The Band Played On by Randy Shilts in D2L Materials>Content>Assigned Readings. If you don't understand someone's role in the chapter or the acronyms used, you can Google them. For example, "Don Francis AIDS" or "GRID AIDS" would be helpful searches if you're confused by the reading.

2. Watch the trailer for a documentary about ACT UP -- "United in Anger" -- to get a basic sense of why ACT UP was formed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuMTMEendus&t=77s

3. Go to the ACT UP archives and check out the page of interviews arranged by topic. Choose three interviews to watch -- you can choose from the same category or different categories. Scroll down to see all the options. Once you've clicked on an interview, you will see an option on the right to watch an "EXCERPT," which means a short portion. Each excerpt is around two minutes or less. So you should have less than 8 minutes total listening time. While watching, make note of the name of the topic and speaker and write a short summary. https://www.actuporalhistory.org/interview-index

Writing Assignment:

First section (6 points): provide the names of the three ACT UP interviews you listened to and write a brief summary and reaction. What did you think about their comments? Were you able to understand what they were talking about? Did the interview help you to understand what they were trying to accomplish in ACT UP and the obstacles they faced? You don't need to write a paragraph that ties it all together -- just list three names, summaries, and your reaction. You don't need a separate citation as listing the name of the speaker will be sufficient.

Second section (14 points): In the second section, write approximately one page (1-3 paragraphs) answering some of these questions. You don't need to answer them all -- just enough to write one page or so. In your writing, aim for some sort of organizational structure that makes sense. For example, you might write one paragraph about the gay community followed by one paragraph about the public health workers. Choose two or three main topics and write about each one.

Citations: At the end of each paragraph, provide the page numbers where you located your answer. If you do not provide a citation at the end of each paragraph, I will deduct 5 points. Please remember the citations are designed to demonstrate you gathered your answers from the class readings, so keep that in mind while writing. Papers will be submitted to Turnitin and any use of AI will result in a zero.

Who was Gaëtan Dugas and how does Shilts use him to tell a story about the early spread of AIDS in the United States?
What role does stigma play in the way Gaëtan Dugas is portrayed in the chapter? How does the focus on Dugas’ sexual behavior contribute to the moralization of the AIDS crisis, and how might this have influenced the public's response to the disease?
Part of this chapter focuses on the scientists who were trying to understand and combat an emerging disease with limited resources and information. How did they conduct their work despite these obstacles? What questions about AIDS were they able to answer, and why? Which facts about AIDS were still unknown?
This chapter illuminates some of the tensions and debates within the gay community. What were they?
One of the larger themes of this book (although not as prevalent in this chapter) is the lack of response from the government and how gay people themselves mobilized to protect themselves and their health. What are some examples of these themes you can spot in this chapter?

Who was Gaëtan Dugas and how does Shilts use him to tell a story about the early spread of AIDS in the United States?

What role does stigma play in the way Gaëtan Dugas is portrayed in the chapter? How does the focus on Dugas’ sexual behavior contribute to the moralization of the AIDS crisis, and how might this have influenced the public's response to the disease?

This chapter illuminates some of the tensions and debates within the gay community. What were they?

One of the larger themes of this book (although not as prevalent in this chapter) is the lack of response from the government and how gay people themselves mobilized to protect themselves and their health. What are some examples of these themes you can spot in this chapter?