Disenfranchised Deaths: Using Epidemic Diseases as Case Studies to Examine Cultural Responses to Disruptions in the Lives of Marginalized Populations in the Americas

Skyler L Gailing

OAI: oai:digitalcommons.ursinus.edu:anth_sum-1004

A project proposal, interview schedule, and bibliography to be submitted for approval for independent research in the Anthropology and Sociology Department. Using smallpox and HIV/AIDS to provide historical context and examples of illness experiences, and then applying that knowledge to the Zika virus, this project studies how people who are part of historically oppressed and vulnerable populations make sense of the disruptions and trauma in their lives using their endemic cultural contexts. In the future, this project will attempt to improve prevention strategies and raise awareness about Zika using culturally appropriate tactics.

smallpox HIV/AIDS Zika Virus United States latin America vulnerability Anthropology diseases Other American Studies Social and Behavioral Sciences