International Academy for the Study of Aids in Culture

Information for Faculty

The International Academy for the Study of Aids in Culture provide international scholars an opportunity to teach abroad and to interact with a variety of colleagues and students from around the world. Since the first Aids in Culture Conference in 2004 more than 300 scholars from arounf the world have participated in our different conferences and academic activities in Mexico. More than 60 countries have been represented. The International Academy for the Study of Aids in Culture gives scholars an opportunity to work, research and live in a truly multicultural and multilingual setting in a fascinating international environment. 

The four week teaching blocks allows faculty to participate who otherwise could not due to departmental or family responsibilities. Most of all, it provides faculty with a chance to get out of their old familiar patterns, to try something new and challenging, and to recharge their batteries in a highly stimulating and different setting.

Typically faculty teach for one block (4 weeks), although in some cases faculty may teach in two or three consecutive blocks. 

As a general rule, the home universities of all visiting faculty members pay their salaries during their stay at the Academy. An apartment and office accommodations are provided by The International Academy for the Study of Aids in Culture.

As courses/curriculum are determined up to a year in advance, faculty interested in teaching in The International Academy for the Study of Aids in Culture should contact their university director as soon as possible for information on how to submit a course for possible inclusion into the program. Faculty should be as flexible as possible when selecting a time period as this allows for the greatest chance for selection.

Courses from the social sciences, humanities and fine arts are appropriate as long as the course includes an approach to AIds in its socio-cultural context. In addition, faculty are encouraged to include field trips and a variety of teaching techniques and styles whenever appropriate. In addition to two or three courses drectly focusing on Aids in Culture, each teaching block will contain one course that focuses on other topics relating to Queer Studies, Human Rights issues or Gender Studies. 

Faculty Development Opportunities 

In addition to the opportunity to teach in a unique multicultural educational setting, faculty may use their time at the The International Academy for the Study of Aids in Culture to do research or write for publication. Our first book, Aids in Culture: Explorations in the Cultural History of Aids will be published by University Press of America in the fall of 2007, with chapters written by former participants in Aids in Culture conferences and edited by Dr. Lars Ivar Owesen-Lein Borge, cultural anthropologist from the University of Frankfurt and academic coordinator of the Academy. Future volumes are planned for a two-year cycle.

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