The New Direction for Our Viral Lives
Our Viral Lives is a project that stakes a claim in multiple spaces: as a storytelling platform for creative expression around HIV and sexuality; as a critical (and yes academic) register on the failure of current discourses to provide spaces of discussion around sexuality for LGBTQ people; and as an archive that says no to spaces of enclosure, capturing a history of HIV/AIDS and sexuality for younger LGBTQ individuals for the first time.
As such, I propose a thesis that contains both a written component and multimedia final product exploring the interwoven themes mentioned above. The written component will feature the following pieces:
- An introduction that traces the start and development of Our Viral Lives, explaining why an online archive focused on HIV and sexuality for LGBTQ individuals under 35.
- Two pieces using queer theory and current events news to explore some basic frameworks for understanding sexual stigma, discrimination, and unique racial and socioeconomic dynamics regarding HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.
- One will focus specifically on contextualizing LGBTQ sexuality in historical movements, including political protest movements.
- The other will focus specifically on some of the current legal and social frameworks in which sexual health preventative and treatment services are provided.
- A piece that examines archival and design theory to propose the aesthetic and research design for Our Viral Lives, including documentation of informed consent and non-traditional interview methods.
- A detailed essay synthesizing various interviews in the context of critical theory and current events, including interviews conducted outside of the United States.
- Between each essay there will be what I call “historical fragments” — these creative pieces will bring to life historical figures who have died from AIDS-related illnesses. Though these are not yet set, likely figures include South African activist Simon Nkoli, filmmaker Derek Jarman, poet and documentary creator Essex Hemphill, and/or transgender artist Chloe Dzubilo.
The multimedia supplement is intended to expand access to the key findings of Our Viral Lives in a more accessible way, as restrictions on access and specific academic language may limit the potential audience of this research project.
All of the individual stories and many components of my research and travels are already available online on the archival website, but the platform Medium will allow for a single archival record that is more heavily invested in multimedia content. In this multimedia presentation, I can include photographs from my archival research, old video clips and other documentary source of historical figures, and audio recordings of certain interviews I’ve conducted.
This multimedia project is not intended to be a closed off document in the way that a written thesis is. Instead, it’s meant to be a launching point for note taking and comments (which are built-in features of the Medium platform), which will only further layer the meaning of this piece. Findings from this multimedia piece will also be presented not only on campus but also in New York City and elsewhere.
I want to emphasize that the intention is not to create an expansive historical and archival thesis. This thesis is, instead, a primer on this new method of using digital archival techniques to emphasize the historical and social importance of contemporary stories about sexuality and HIV for under 35 LGBTQ individuals, who are the demographic most affected by HIV/AIDS. Theoretical frameworks provide basic context (and a resource list at the end will allow people to explore other resources in more depth), but the method of archival research is itself enacted throughout this writing.
Finally, it’s important to stress that this is a project where my own stories play a prominent role. I believe strongly in using personal narrative in the context of most academic writing. As a queer men who deals with HIV on a daily basis, there will be an “I” that permeates a writing. This “I” will provide intimacy and pleasure to balance out explorations of discrimination, social inequality, and a lot of death.
In writing this thesis, I do not wish to place myself above the foray of desire. I am an archivist, curator and researcher, but I’m also a man who loves other men in the middle of an epidemic. This subjective, personal experience cannot be minimized.