The Politics of Knowledge Production in HIV/AIDS Research about Ontario’s African, Caribbean, and Black Communities (original) (raw)

HIV/AIDS science has long been a site of contestation by civil society actors. Early activists originating in the gay community affected the course of HIV/AIDS science by challenging the definition and treatment of the disease. However, little is known about the politicized efforts of other groups disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, particularly Black communities, to mobilize and shape research about their communities. This thesis interrogates social relations and power in research about HIV/AIDS in Ontario's African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) population. Using Pierre Bourdieu's field theory, together with concepts from the sociology of science and race theory, I investigate tensions and struggles over the definition and production of ACB HIV/AIDS research. Through a review of research grants and 21 semi-structured interviews with actors engaged in research, I characterize the field of ACB HIV/AIDS research and explore the struggles therein. I also examine what is at stake in these struggles and their implications for the reproduction of, and resistance to, systems of domination. My findings indicate that the field of ACB HIV/AIDS research is composed of interlocking scientific disciplines and non-scientific domains. Struggles over the field's organizing principles are represented in the different stances that participants adopt concerning the legitimate definition of research. Some academic-based actors define HIV/AIDS research iii according to empiricist principles oriented toward technical control and prevention of disease.