Interchange: hiv/aids and U.S. History Emerging in the 1980s, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids) ravaged minori-tized communities across the country and in the process transformed the United States. In this " Interchange, " the...
moreInterchange: hiv/aids and U.S. History Emerging in the 1980s, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (aids) ravaged minori-tized communities across the country and in the process transformed the United States. In this " Interchange, " the writers focus primarily on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (lgbtq) communities and communities of color, groups that make up the majority of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) in the United States, as a way to explore social, cultural, and political battles over recognizing the significance of aids and for access to treatment and prevention. The epidemic, and those affected by it, transformed public discussion of sexuality and race, poverty, and public health. But despite those radical changes, hiv/aids has rarely been included in the history of the post-1960s era. Working with Jennifer Brier, the JAH brought together nine scholars to discuss how the history of hiv/aids intersects with the history of the United States. Participants engaged in a far-ranging conversation that interweaves histories of sexuality, race, gender, medicine, social activism, and media, and explores how hiv/aids has been addressed, and ignored, in historical scholarship of the late twentieth century. As the first feature-length piece dedicated to the history of hiv/aids published by the Journal, this " Interchange " is able to delve deeply into many critical aspects of the history of hiv/aids but misses many others. The JAH and all the contributors hope this piece sparks and sustains new historical research across the many axes of the field of U.S. history. The JAH is indebted to all of the participants for sharing their thoughts on this subject.
