Drawing on decades of research on the WHO’s smallpox eradication programmes, and the implementation across South Asia, Sanjoy explores the deep divisions and historical misrepresentation that can be found in this area of study. He discusses the harmful and long-term impact of such an exclusionary practice, and questions whether this complicated history can act as an inclusive compass for the future?
Disproportionately high cases of HIV in 1980s Edinburgh led to the city scrambling to meet the needs of HIV-affected women and families. Dr Hannah Elizabeth explores the emergence of collaborative activism amongst HIV-affected doctors, social workers, and mothers, that spanned professional, political and personal boundaries. Through these deeply personal stories, they demonstrate how others can learn from the quiet and small-scale activism that shaped Edinburgh’s response to the AIDS crisis.
Our Speakers
Prof. Sanjoy Battacharya is the Head of the School of History, and the Professor of Medical and Global Health Histories, at the University of Leeds.
Dr Hannah Elizabeth is a cultural historian of emotions, childhood, sexuality and health, and has previously worked on topics as diverse as the history of sex education, smoking, polio, and zombies.