ARTH 368
HIV + AIDS in Film and Video
Last Offered n/a
Division I Difference, Power, and Equity
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Spanning activist works, experimental film, Hollywood dramas and documentary, this course examines the role of moving images in reckoning with the global AIDS crisis, its aftermath, and its ongoing aftershocks. The AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s was, in the words of Larry Kramer, a ‘plague’ of epic proportions, with an entire generation obliterated before it could reach maturity. And yet, the ‘plague’ years also spawned a remarkable amount of creative and activist image-making aimed at fighting, mourning, and grappling with AIDS. Now, we find ourselves in another pivotal moment: the past decade has yielded a new wave of artworks dedicated to memorializing the crisis, while for many communities, the crisis never ended. Together, we will ask difficult and probing questions about this phenomenon called the ‘AIDS epidemic,’ examining the role of art in frontline activism, the ethics of AIDS historiography, mainstream visions of the AIDS body, and the need for a diversity of AIDS narratives. This seminar-style course will combine weekly screenings with readings and intensive discussion.