Erika George, professor of law at S.J. Quinney College of Law, has been selected to present her paper, tentatively titled “The Intersection of Identity and HIV/AIDS: South-South Cooperation and Efforts to Combat Infectious Disease,” at the ISA-ABRA International Joint Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 22-24, 2009.
The paper will focus on many facets of this modern pandemic: “the dynamics of infectious disease in the international system; connection of HIV/AIDS infection to civil, political, and military conflict in Africa; how culture, ethnicity, and even religion plays out in societies with high levels of HIV/AIDS infection; contribution of multilateral entities like UNAIDS and WHO to creating shared values for the international public health infrastructure; and finally, how South-South cooperation (mainly alliances between India, Brazil, and many African countries) may yield greater success in preventing premature death from infectious disease going forward.”
Professor George has worked extensively on women and children’s rights in developing countries, specifically in India and South Africa, through on-site investigations and documentation for Human Rights Watch, and continues to through other independent scholarly projects.
“The International Studies Association (ISA) was founded in 1959 to promote research and education in international affairs. With well over 4,000 members in North America and around the world, ISA is the most well respected and widely known scholarly association in this field,” as noted on its website.