San Antonio College Library

This edited volume draws historians, anthropologists and archaeologists together to explore the contested worlds of epidemic corpses and their disposal. Why are burials so frequently at the center of disagreement, recrimination and protest during epidemics? Why are the human corpses produced in the course of infectious disease outbreaks seen as dangerous, not just to the living, but also to the continued existence of society and civilization? Examining...

"Moving from viruses, vaccines, and copycat murder to gay panics, xenophobia, and psychopaths, Transforming Contagion energetically fuses critical humanities and social science perspectives into a boundary-smashing interdisciplinary collection on contagion. The contributors provocatively suggest contagion to be as full of possibilities for revolution and resistance as it is for the descent into madness, malice, and extensive state control. The infectious...

Infectious disease has the terrifying power to disrupt everyday life on a global scale, overwhelming public and private resources and bringing trade and transportation to a halt. In today's world, it's easier than ever to move people, animals, and materials around the planet, but the same advances that make modern infrastructure so efficient have made epidemics and even pandemics nearly inevitable. So what can -- and must -- we do in order to protect...

"How do scientists develop new explanations of disease? How do those explanations become accepted as true? And how does medical diagnosis change when physicians are confronted with new scientific evidence? These are some of the questions that Paul Thagard pursues in this book that develops a new, integrative approach to the study of science." "How Scientists Explain Disease challenges both traditional philosophy of science, which has viewed science...

"Women's Experiences with HIV/AIDS: Mending Fractured Selves examines the impact of HIV/AIDS on women, the fastest-growing subgroup of the HIV-infected population of the United States. Based on interviews with HIV-infected women, the book gives voice to their experiences. These courageous women speak candidly about the impact of illness on their lives in interviews that highlight key issues pertinent to living with the infection, including the everyday...

A Generation at Risk brings up-to-date and insightful perspectives from experienced practitioners and researchers on how a better future can be secured for the millions of children who are being orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. The current situation of these children is grim, and while there has been significant action in the last few years by governments, international organizations, religious bodies, and nongovernmental organizations, the...

This book brings together seven research studies to provide a profile of the HIV prevention, surveillance, and treatment needs of migrant workers. Mishra, Conner, and Magana combine their own extensive work with that of nationally and internationally recognized experts to provide a comprehensive analysis of the HIV epidemic among migrants workers, looking at perceptions of risk, sexual beliefs and practices, effects of migration on changing risk profiles,...

From tapeworms and lice to fungi and down to tiny viruses, we are surrounded by agents of infectious disease which can be caught from other people, animals, and the environment. The variety of such agents is enormous and their methods of infection often ingenious. Some have life cycles that also involve non-human hosts. The discovery of these agents of disease has involved luck and accident as well as dedication, even on occasion to the point of self-experimentation....

From the Castro bathhouses to AZT and the denial of AIDS in South Africa, this sweeping look at AIDS covers the epidemic from all angles and across the world. Engel seamlessly weaves together science, politics, and culture, writing with an even hand-noting the excesses of the more radical edges of the ACT UP movement as well as the conservative religious leaders who thought AIDS victims deserved what they got. The story of AIDS is one of the most...

"The Social Welfare of Women and Children with HIV and AIDS examines the issues surrounding this growing epidemic, including discrimination in employment, housing, health care, and education, and explores such important topics as medical testing, confidentiality, reproductive freedom, income assistance, child welfare, and child custody. The text provides a comprehensive overview of public policy and legislation regarding these issues, focusing on...