Knowledge Bank

This thesis explores the transformative impact of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) on healthcare research, policy, and practice during the AIDS crisis and its aftereffects then following. It examines (1) the story of AIDS in America, (2) the philosophical explanations which explain the allowance of the certain conditions that inadvertently exacerbated the disease's trajectory, (3) the emergence and mechanics of ACT UP as a social movement, and (4) the philosophical implications of its advocacy through its establishment of “the Denver Principles.” The work highlights the systemic failures of institutions to address the AIDS epidemic, such as the pathologization of persons with AIDS (PWA), motivational deficits in public health responses, and the nature of ‘pathologization’ which dehumanizes those who find themselves burdened by some certain condition. Drawing on frameworks such as narrative medicine, social ontology, or Sara Ahmed’s analysis of institutional complaint- the thesis ultimately argues for the importance of centering lived patient experiences, dismantling stigma, and fostering cultural fluency in healthcare systems for members of the gender and sexual minority but then by proxy more broadly. At large, the thesis argues for a more human-centered approach to medicine. By integrating insights from ACT UP’s advocacy, this thesis calls for a more empathetic, inclusive, and human-centered approach to healthcare research, policy, and practice that emphasizes the moral urgency of learning from the AIDS crisis to build a more just and equitable future.