In 1981, a new disease appeared in the United States. Reactions to the disease, soon named AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), varied. A book written in 1987 by and for people with AIDS titled, Surviving and Thriving, insisted that people could live with AIDS, not just die from it. Surviving and Thriving: AIDS, Politics, and Culture is an exhibit from the National Library of Medicine that illustrates an iconic history of AIDS alongside lesser-known examples of historical figures who changed the course of the pandemic. Centering the experience of people with AIDS in the exhibition allows us to see how critical they were, and continue to be, in the political and medical fight against HIV/AIDS.
The Surviving and Thriving exhibit will be on display at Falk Library from January 17 through February 25, 2017. The following events are co-sponsored by the Health Sciences Library System and the Center for LGBT Health Research with matching funding from the Year of Diversity:
Thursday, January 19, 2017, at 6 p.m.
“Voices Heard: A Social History of HIV Testing in the U.S.” by Ronald O. Valdiserri, MD, MPH; Senior Research Associate and Distinguished Scholar, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Pitt Public Health Grand Rounds Lecture
Lecture Room 1105, Scaife Hall, 3550 Terrace Street
Reception to follow in Falk Library, 2nd Floor Scaife Hall
Tuesday, February 7, 2017, at 6 p.m.
“Leveraging a legacy of activism: ‘Black Lives Matter’ and the way forward for HIV research” by Derrick D. Matthews, PhD, MPH; Assistant Professor, Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Center for LGBT Health Research, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
Room A115, Crabtree Hall, 130 De Soto Street
Reception to follow in the Public Health Community Commons, Parran Hall
The exhibit is comprised of six panels on display on the main floor of Falk Library. It is free and open to the public during Falk Library’s regular hours.
~Julia Dahm