AIDS and Contemporary History

Cambridge Studies in the History of Medicine

by Virginia Berridge (Editor), Philip Strong (Editor)

The advent of AIDS has led to a revival of interest in the historical relationship of disease to society. There now exists a new consciousness of AIDS and history, and of AIDS itself as an historic event. This provides the starting-point of this collection of essays. Its twin themes are the 'pre-history' of the impact of AIDS, and its subsequent history. Essays in the section on the 'pre-history' of AIDS analyse the contexts against which AIDS should be measured. The section on AIDS as history presents chapters by historians and policy scientists on such topics as British and US drugs policy, the later years of AIDS policies in the UK and the emergence of AIDS as a political issue in France. A final chapter looks at the archival potential in the AIDS area. As a whole the volume demonstrates the contribution that historians can make in the analysis of near-contemporary events.

Genres: History

Paperback

First published April 30, 1993

About the author

Virginia Berridge, FRHistS, HonFRCP, FAcSS is a British academic historian and public health expert. She is a Professor of History and Director of the Centre for History in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Reviews

[saizine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and well-presented look at the "pre-history" of AIDS (encompassing historical interests that have an impact on how histories/narratives have conceptualized AIDS) and AIDS as history, primarily in Europe with a few notes on perspectives in the United States. The star rating is probably closer to a 3.5/3.75 in truth, if only for the usual proviso that in books made up of articles from many authors, some will be more engaging than others--I particularly enjoyed Weeks' "AIDS and the regulation of sexuality", Towers' "Politics and policy: historical perspectives on screening", Muraskin's "Hepatitis B as a model (and anti-model) for AIDS", Anderson's "The New York needle trial: the politics of public health in the age of AIDS", and Steffen's "AIDS policies in France". While those make up less than half of the included material, I think they're certainly good places to start for anyone wishing to read on the subject of how AIDS policies, narratives, and conceptualizations have developed (and are developing).