City of Angels 2017-18

Today in class we discussed the possibility of creating a new podcast.  Throughout the process of developing our first podcast we were able to interview members of the communities we went to, talk to shop owners, and purchase food in these neighborhoods. Something that I have been thinking about is how we can make this project more of an exchange between our class community and the communities that have given us so much and made it possible for us to bring our podcasts to fruition. Many times I think the poly community can approach things from a “service” centered lens and in my opinion, this can be problematic in that it creates an imbalance in relationships setting up a power dynamic that is contrary to building community. However, with our podcasts I think we have been given so much from these neighborhoods and the people who live and work in them. Whether,  speaking to store owners, community developers, homeowners/renters, our class has learned from first hand experien...

During Dr. Deverell’s visit today, he mentioned society’s worry about miasma and areas in Los Angeles with a dip in the landscape. Miasma is fog in which people of the early 20th century suspected disease lingered. It can often be found in small valleys and places with small bodies of water. In a city which saw the migration of many Americans seeking its healthy, arid climate, I found it interesting to hear about places in which disease was rampant and feared. I wonder if we, 21st century students, have similar fears about disease ridden parts of Los Angeles. Skidrow is one area in which I, and most people I suspect, imagine disease to be prevalent. Beyond the obvious areas like Skidrow, Hospitals, or places with a large homeless population, where do we imagine disease might be prevalent? Why do we think such places are laced with disease? Perhaps our conclusions are irrational, but I am interested in why we think like that in the first place. Maybe some research will be helpful.

We have been talking a lot about diseases in Los Angeles and the stigmas that surround these. While discussing “Fit to be Citizens” we have really delved into the perception of minorities and their connection with these diseases. Keeping in mind the discussions we have had about the justifications that health officials had, it makes me wonder if there are any connection in Los Angeles today that were also present in the 20s. Are there any immigration reform laws or ideas surrounding immigration that you think resemble the ideas and laws created by health workers during the 20s? 

We are starting discussion of the section in Sontag called “AIDS and Its Metaphors”. First off, what stereotypes and stigmas do you initially connect to AIDS? In the reading, Sontag recognizes that unlike cancer, AIDS is medical condition in which people know how and why they got it. “Because of countless metaphoric flourishes that have made cancer synonymous with evil, having cancer has been experienced by many as shameful, therefore something to conceal, and also unjust, a betrayal by one’s body. Why me? The cancer patient exclaims bitterly. With AIDS, the shame is not at all obscure. Few wonder, Why me? Most people outside of sub-Saharan Africa who have AIDS know (or think they know) how they got it. It is not a mysterious affliction that seems to strike at random” (pg. 112). Directly following this passage, she discusses how AIDS targets certain “risk groups”, the first being homosexual men. Relating this to our LA based course, how did the progression of AIDS in California ...