AIDS talk

The observations of Michel Foucault, noted Twentieth Century French philosopher, regarding modern power relations and orders of discourse, form the framework utilized to analyze and interpret the power struggles of AIDS activists and their opponents--the religious and radical right, and the administrative agencies of the 'Liberal' welfare State. Supported by the tools of sociolinguistic inquiry, the analysis highlights the success of a safer sex campaign in Houston, Texas to illustrate the dynamics of cultural and political change by means of discursive transformations initiated by the gay micro-culture. The KS/AIDS Foundation, allied with both the biomedical community and gay entertainment spheres, was successful in conveying biomedical cautions that resulted in altered personal behavior and modified public attitudes by using linguistic conventions consonant with the discourse of the Houston gay micro-culture. The transformation of discursive practices transgressed not only the Houston gay micro-culture's boundaries, but the city boundaries of Houston as well. In addition to cultural and political change, moderate and confrontational gay activists also sought to change the cognitive boundaries surrounding 'the gold standard' for clinical research trials.^ From a Foucauldian perspective, the same-sex community evolved from the subordinated Other to a position of power in a period of five years. Transformations in discursive practices and power relations are exemplified by the changing definitions employed by AIDS policy-makers, the public validation of community-based research and the establishment of parallel track drug studies. Finally, transformations in discursive practices surrounding the issues of HIV antibody testing are interpreted using Foucault's six points of power relations. The Montrose Clinic provides the case study for this investigation. The clinic turned the technical rationalities of the State against itself to achieve its own ends and those of the gay micro-culture--anonymous testing with pre and post test counseling. AIDS Talk portrays a dramatic transformation in discursive practices and power relations that transcends the historical moment to provide a model for future activists. Volume 2 contains copies of fugitive primary source materials largely unavailable elsewhere. Original documents are archived in the Harris County Medical Archives in the Houston Academy of Medicine located in the Texas Medical Center Library, Houston, Texas. ^

MS#73 William C. Moloney, M.D., papers; 1952-1954

Dr. Moloney kept a personal journal, with photographs, for much of his two years with the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission in Japan. Along with other scientists, he studied the biological and medical effects of ionized radiation on the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings. In January of 1986, Dr. Moloney donated his journal, correspondence and diary pages to the Harris County Medical Archive, whose collections were later incorporated into the Texas Medical Center Library. Dr. Moloney's journal is in relatively good shape containing a mix of handwritten notes and comments, news-clippings, photos, and ephemera. The journal is an important record of personal impressions, thoughts and details of events during a pivotal time in Japan. This 192-pagee journal gives new insights into the work of the ABCC and into the people who participated in that work. The journal covers the period from April 1952 to February 1954. In these documents, Moloney records his struggles with understanding the Japanese culture, his frustration at not being allowed to treat the survivors he studied, and his concerns, fears, hopes and revelations as he dealt with the bombing survivors and their children. The original papers are open for research at the John P. McGovern Historical Collections and Research Center in the TMC Library in Houston.