ABSTRACT
Introducing his book on epidemic disease in the late 1950’s, Arthur Gale suggested that the value of such a volume lay in the “light it throws upon the present because many of the diseases to be discussed have vanished from the English scene or have become trivial”. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has emerged at a time when scholars are questioning the manner in which knowledge, power and authority are socially and culturally reproduced in ways that may be opaque to the actors. The biology, epidemiology, history and social context of infectious diseases preoccupy scholars worldwide. The pandemic of AIDS provides an opening for many contributors to question the special role of science in the construction of a world culture. Voices from various disciplines, from centers and peripheries, and from dominant and subject positions, are joined in a common discussion about the way science is produced, theories are constructed, and knowledge disseminated.
