Description
Book SynopsisWhen does epidemic disease disrupt society to the point where it becomes a political crisis? In the early 1980s, almost unnoticed in the larger drama that was AIDS, over half of hemophiliacs and a large number of blood transfusion recipients were infected with toxic blood contaminated with HIV. The French public''s discovery of this catastrophe in the early 1990s created a transformative political crisis; this same discovery in the United States went largely unnoticed. In The Social Production of Crisis, Constance A. Nathanson and Henri Bergeron focus on a profoundly troubling story to present a detailed case comparative analysis not only of the catastrophe itself and its multiple retrospective interpretations but also of its intimate connection to the history and organization of blood as a consumer product in each country. They draw on secondary sources, archival research, and interviews with key players to provide a historical, political, and social reconstruction of the HIV contamin
Trade ReviewIn this critically important and timely book, Nathanson and Bergeron offer a tale of two countries and their divergent responses to the recognition that HIV had contaminated their blood supplies, placing millions at risk. In the US this story is all but forgotten, a footnote in the wider history of the AIDS epidemic. In France, the debate about HIV in the blood supply became and remains the source of protest, public debate, and political crisis. Essential reading for anyone interested in epidemics, comparative policy, and culture. * Allan M. Brandt, Harvard University, and author of No Magic Bullet: A Social History of Venereal Disease in the United States (Oxford, 2020) *
In the early 1980s, a contaminated national blood supply led to AIDS infection of over half of hemophiliacs in the U.S. and in France. This book explains-in painstaking detail and with incisive analysis-how and why the same set of events created a national crisis in France and barely a ripple in the United States. A must read! * Abigail C. Saguy, Professor and Chair, UCLA Sociology *
In this sophisticated and deft analysis, Bergeron and Nathanson ask why, despite the deaths of thousands of hemophiliacs, contamination of the blood supply with HIV did not become a crisis in the US, while a somewhat lower casualty count led to the most serious public health scandal in post-war France and ended multiple political careers. Their answer takes the form of a fascinating, multi-stranded historical narrative that brings together decisions taken after WWII, the symbolic ambiguity of blood and blood products, legal constructs, the power of professional and donor associations, and the rhetorical work of multiple, interested parties. It is essential reading for anyone interested, especially in the wake of the Coronavirus epidemic, in how public health crises are made or unmade. * Gil Eyal, author of The Crisis of Expertise *
This exemplary comparative analysis of parallel health crises in France and the United States draws on the best tools available to explain diverging national outcomes. Bringing together a sophisticated political sociology of the state, with cultural, network and strategic action analysis, Nathanson and Bergeron produce a brilliant account that will should inform many other future studies. This book should be widely read and discussed. * Michèle Lamont, Harvard University *
Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: The Social Life of Blood, 1948-1980 HIV/BLOOD STORIES Chapter 3: Act I - Before the Storm, 1981-85 Chapter 4: Act II - The Storm Breaks, 1986-95 Chapter 5: Mobilization of the Afflicted BLOOD EPISTEMOLOGY Chapter 6: Litigation Chapter 7: Compensation Chapter 8: Authoritative Retrospection REFLECTIONS Chapter 9: The Social Production of Political Crisis Chapter 10: Conclusion: Crisis and Change APPENDICES A. Chronologies B. Acronyms C. Sources Bibliography
