A Senior Capstone Experience by Sophia Lennox ’24

Submitted to the Department of History

Advised by Dr. Carol Wilson

Contributor Biography: Sophia Lennox is a 2024 WAC graduate who majored in History and Art + Art History, and minored in Museum, Field, and Community Education and Gender Studies. She is currently living in Philadelphia with plans to enter a graduate program in American Studies. She enjoys art with thoughtful stories, human connection, and interesting historical context. 

Description: This paper explores the development of “HIV/AIDS communities,” during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States (1981-1996). The impact of the disease goes far beyond those who contract it; therefore, in this paper, “communities” is used as the encompassing term to include everyone involved or affiliated with HIV/AIDS research, activism, outreach, and support, whether they were vocal or private about their connection. This paper investigates the actions and progression of these communities, how and why they formed, and what their major areas of interest were. Their actions are put into context with the legal, social, and medical histories and understandings of same-sex attraction and intimacy, all of which contributed to the attitudes and events of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the deaths of over 700,000 Americans.  

Read Sophia’s SCE below:

Photo by David Prasad on Flickr.com