AIDS constitutes a complex social phenomenon-a pandemic, an illness, a set of symbols, a network of relations, a way of life. It is undoubtedly the source of intense individual and social suffering. It is, at the same time, a cultural object whose meanings shift with the particular contexts in which it circulates. This course will explore the historical, cultural and political-economic dimensions of AIDS in a variety of settings and manifestations: as a biomedical, epidemiological, statistical and juridical category, as a chronic illness that generates personal narratives, as a reflection of global and local inequities of power and material resources, as the generator of social and political mobilization at the local and transnational level, and as a metaphor for the conditions of modern life. We will examine ethnographic material from North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia that will show how AIDS and responses to it exist within "local moral worlds." We will also look at reports from the WHO and UNAIDS, journalistic and popular writing and films to analyze some of the language and imagery that comes to surround AIDS. Format: lecture. Evaluation will be based on class participation, oral presentations, final take home examination, and a 15-page research paper. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 30 (expected: 30). Preference to anthropology and sociology majors.