COURSE GOALS

This course grew from one that was designed in 1990 and taught at Teachers College during the Fall term by Dr. Robert E. Fullilove. In the first few years the course was very basic- what could be described as ‘AIDS 101’. As AIDS has become pandemic, the course has, necessarily, become much broader to address the myriad of new issues that arise each year as our knowledge base about HIV/AIDS grows and the challenges we face become more complex. Dr. Bob and I worked together in the Summer of 2002 to create this online version.

Because we are not going to be meeting face-to-face, our exploration of this topic will be through readings from a textbook, a variety of web sites, and through your interactions with the instructor and each other online.  Here are some of the issues I want you to consider over the course of our time together.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has taken on the character of prism through which we see the foibles and the failures of modern life.  The pandemic represents more than a threat to individual health and requires more from educators than ever before.  In the past AIDS education meant telling students who are potentially at risk for infection with the virus how to avoid infection.  As we confront a generation of college and K12 students who have never known life without the presence of the AIDS epidemic, our notions about what they -- and for that matter, every adult -- will need to know have changed.

This course, therefore, is less about how to construct an AIDS education curriculum and more an orientation to the key issues that every educator should understand in order to help others make sense of the epidemic -- irrespective of the population s/he serves. Through a series of readings, questions and discussions this course will achieve the following set of educational objectives:

• Students will be able to provide a definition of HIV infection, its relationship to AIDS, and the routes through which individuals are exposed to the virus.
  
• Students will be able to describe in writing the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS, with specific attention to the sociogeographic characteristics of the disease, which will include the manner in which race, gender, community, and socioeconomics influence the dynamics of the pandemic.
  
• Students will understand and describe the basic biological structure of the virus, including the mechanisms through which exposure, infection, and disease progression function for HIV/AIDS.
  
• Students will describe the manner in which current therapies function, including Highly Active Antiretroviral Treatments [HAART] and Protease Inhibitors [PIs].
  
• Students will understand and describe the theoretical basis for HIV prevention interventions and the role that education plays in such efforts.
  
• Students will understand and describe the policy issues that influence and shape HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts.

In addition to these specific learning objectives, I hope that our readings and discussions will cause you to critically examine some of your own beliefs and ideas and the ways in which issues of race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, health status, and other demographic variables influence our provision of HIV/AIDS education, prevention and care. I ask you to challenge yourself (and me) to reach beyond the easy and automatic responses to these issues and the challenges that they pose for educators and providers.

I look forward exploring these topics with you over the course of the semester.

                                                                                      -Jena

COURSE SCHEDULE

Week                   Dates                   Topic_______________

1        September 8-15              Introduction, Orientation and

                                                          Needs Assessment

          2        September 15-22            Biological Indicators of HIV

                                                          Disease & Progression to AIDS

          3        September 22-29            Epidemiology Part I:

                                                          20^th Century Progress and AIDS

          4        September 29-                Epidemiology Part II:

                   October 6                       AIDS and STDs

          5        October 6-13                  Ethical & Legal Issues:

                                                          Condoms and Sex Education

          6        October 13-20                Ethical & Legal Issues: Partner Notification

          7        October 20-27                Ethical & Legal Issues: Vaccines

          8        October 27-                    Ethical & Legal Issues: Testing for HIV                    

November 3   (Midterms or Term Project topics due 11/3)

9        November 3-10              Specific Populations: Women

          10      November 10-17            Specific Populations: Children    

          11      November 17-24            Specific Populations: IDUs – AIDS

                                                          and Addiction

12      November 24-                Specific Populations: The LGBT

December 1                    Community and MSM               

13      December 1-8                 Specific Populations:

                                      Intersections of Race and Culture

14      December 8-15               International Perspectives

(Final Exams or Term Projects due 12/15)

          15      December 15-24             Project Discussion & Course Summary