Life and Death in the Age of HIV/AIDS: Southern Africa's Epidemic in Comparative Perspective The Conferences The Southern African Research Centre (SARC) at Queen's University and the Department of History and the Library at the University of South Africa (UNISA) are planning two conferences on this subject during 2006. The first will take place at SARC in Kingston, Canada on May 7-10, with a focus on: Public Health and the Representation of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic. The UNISA gathering at the University's Sunnyside campus in Pretoria on August 14-16 --- will address a related but distinct set of issues: HIV/AIDS in Social Context: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. It is expected that cross-over participation in the two events will ensure that issues raised in the papers and discussion at the SARC workshop in Canada will be fed into the debates that take place at UNISA. The organisers are social scientists and historians working on projects involving HIV/AIDS and the history of epidemic infectious disease more generally. A more detailed statement of the rationale and plans for the conferences is attached to this call for papers. Themes and Issues We will welcome papers on all aspects of the ways in which HIV/AIDS and other severe epidemic diseases have been represented and presented in public, scientific, and political contexts. Specifically, we are interested in proposals that focus on: · Developing comparative historical and contemporary analyses of national experiences of HIV prevention and treatment and of other severe epidemics within southern Africa, in Africa more broadly, and around the world; · examining how the specifically sexual character of HIV and other STIs affects prevention, treatment and representation; · explaining the differential impact of the disease on women and children; · investigating the impact of gender roles and gender-based violence in the spread of HIV; · analysing the role and impact of caregiving at household and community levels, particularly from the standpoint of gender issues and sex roles; · evaluating the representation of the science of HIV and the debates around causation and treatment; · discussing popular perspectives in highly affected communities on HIV/AIDS, STDs and treatment strategies; · analysing the role of elites, political parties, and NGOs in HIV issues and how their views and activities have been represented, or misrepresented, by allies and opponents; · evaluating particular community and NGO projects around HIV and analysing the broader lessons that can be drawn from them; · assessing the social effects of high rates of premature morbidity and mortality and the emergence of a "deathscape" in many communities; · examining the human and material impact of HIV on the health systems of highly-affected countries. Abstracts Proposals for papers and panels are welcome. Abstracts (250 words in Word or WordPerfect format) are due by September 6, 2005 for the Queen's Workshop and February 28, 2006 for the UNISA meeting. Submission of abstracts by email attachment is requested. Please let us know whether you wish to participate at Queen's or UNISA or both. Late abstracts will be considered on a space available basis Participants in the Queen's Workshop may also plan to include the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of African Studies, which takes place in Montreal immediately following the conclusion of the workshop in Kingston on May 11-13, 2006. Further information about the CAAS conference, including the call for papers, will be available later in the year. Early submission of proposals for papers and panels will be appreciated, as they will assist our efforts at fund raising. Contact Details and Further Information Abstracts may be submitted to and further information obtained from For the Queen's Workshop: Alan Jeeves Southern African Research Centre 152 Albert St. Queen's University Kingston, Canada. K7L 3N6 Voicemail and Fax: 1-416-352-5303 Email: hivconferences@cs.com For the UNISA Conference: Mary-Lynn Suttie The Library University of South Africa P.O. Box 392 Unisa, South Africa. 0003 Email: suttim@unisa.ac.za Phone: 27-12 429-3098. Fax: 27-12 429-2925