Syracuse University SURFACE Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects Projects Spring 5-1-2009 Transition of Blame: The Othering of AIDS from Homosexuals to Africans Claire S. Zillman Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone Part of the African History Commons, and the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons Recommended Citation Zillman, Claire S., "Transition of Blame: The Othering of AIDS from Homosexuals to Africans" (2009). Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects. 487. https://surface.syr.edu/honors_capstone/487 This Honors Capstone Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Syracuse University Honors Program Capstone Projects by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. 1 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 2 Introduction 3 Sources: The New York Times and The San Francisco Chronicle 5 Historiography and Theory: Sontag to Foucault 15 Chapter One : The Epidemiology of AIDS: How “Gay Cancer” Became an Epidemic 25 Indicators of an Epidemic 26 The Biology Behind the Epidemic 30 The Biological Origin of an Epidemic 31 The Evolution of AIDS Transmission 36 Chapter Two : Setting the Othering Template: News Coverage of Homosexuals With AIDS 41 Reacting to an Epidemic: The New York Times and Charles Rosenberg 42 The San Francisco Chronicle’s Coverage of AIDS and