One of the best courses I have taken on Coursera (and I've taken about 20). It's clear that Professor Meisler and his team have taken such thoughtful care in putting this course together. I found the conversational nature of the lectures very engaging to listen to. Hearing the perspectives from several people who each have different roles in the HIV/AIDS epidemic was so enlightening. Currently my job is at an agency that focuses on public health (although not AIDS-related), and I found this course to be valuable in better understanding the different pieces that can affect any public health issue, including politics, social stigmas, activism, the level of compassion and capacity of healthcare providers and community-based organizations, etc. An excellent course!

very informative, talks about the social and scientific sides of AIDS from the beginning till this present day

Great course! Thoroughly enjoyed lectures and learning more about HIV/AIDS from various perspectives.

Fantastic course which imparts critical knowledge about the AIDs epidemic. The course material is presented superbly by Dr Richard who's open dialogue, inquisitive attitude and expertise helps students to understand the dynamics of this virus. Engaging with the material leads to a holistic understanding of epidemics and pandemics, it becomes clear that the spread is determined by biological mechanisms, political reactions, economic impacts, societal attitudes and other important factors. Through the insightful lectures and quizzes, a foundation of applicable knowledge is rapidly built and the weekly action tasks help to consolidate understanding. Featuring interviews of experts in the field as well as those living with HIV/AIDS really provides context to the destructive effects of this illness. Finally, the explorations of the artistic responses to this predicament signify the human creativity and strength despite suffering. I highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to understand more about sexual health, viruses and the interconnected nature of our world.

This material, while quite dated, provides an excellent introduction to HIV-AIDS pandemic from its recognition in the 1980s up to around 2014. The discussion is succinct, going well and beyond the immediate biomedical, clinical and public health considerations. The whole-rounded approach to the topic firmly establishes the wrath of the pandemic being "modified" or made malleable by the societies it penetrated. The suggested materials for further viewing either adds humanity to the topic or provides an expansive historical view to the failures and successes of our collective response to the ongoing scourge.

Incredibly engaging! This course provides an excellent multi-discipline approach to understanding HIV/AIDS that not only focuses on the medical background, but delves into the cultural, social, and political factors that have impacted the disease. The professor is amazingly knowledgeable and has structured this course in such an engaging and organized way. Now, I feel empowered to bring this education to the community I will be serving during my Peace Corps service. Taking this course was one of the best decisions I have ever made!

Dr. Meisler put together an excellent and informative course. I decided to take this course over others because it seemed the most inclusive of all aspects of HIV/AIDS. I recently got my first job as a social worker and will be working with individuals living with HIV & AIDS. After this course, I feel like I have a good foundation going into this work and hope to build on the knowledge I have gained. The class was engaging and provided many great outside resources and included insightful interviews with people in the field.

It was a wonderful experience. It was great to know about the AIDS epidemic, role of different presidents regarding AIDS, its transmission, testing, counseling, vaccine, anti-retroviral therapy, prevention, problems as a result of anti-retroviral therapy, and a lot more. To grasp more information about AIDS epidemic and various HIV+ cases, the suggested books and referred movies were simply remarkable. Dr. Meisler has explained many aspects that might help one in future research for better treatment of HIV+ patients.

Me ha encantado este curso. Me ha ayudado a comprender gran parte de asuntos que hay detrás del SIDA y el VIH. Richard Meisler era un gran profesor, y lo seguirá siendo dando parte de ello en estos cursos Online que nos dejó. Realmente, aborda la materia de una forma muy directa e interesante, y consulta con expertos de todas las materias. Gente que experimenta la infección de VIH, investigadores del virus, trabajadores sociales... ¡Curso altamente recomendado, y el profesor es muy bueno!

This is an amazingly thoughtful and thought provoking course. The care and time taken to build this course is nothing short of incredible especially as it is offered free of charge to students. This was a wonderful educational experience that has solidified my educational goals of going into the field of epidemiology with focus on persons living with HIV/AIDS. Words cannot express my gratitude for Dr. Meisler and the amazing participants in this course; it is nothing short of a blessing.

Well-rounded course that everyone can benefit from. Involving scientific, historic, political, and even cultural (arts and activism) aspects of AIDS epidemic in the US and, to a limited extent, elsewhere in the world, this course, which features some fascinating speakers who have experience in both academic research and grassroots activism, has been immensly enlightening and provides some truly fascinating resources for further research.

This course provides a concise and balanced look at the aids epidemic,and social responsibility and response to it. I think it is comprehensive in the resources that we can access, additional videos, books, professionals, advocates and patients. Definitely a good starting off point for someone who wants a detailed introduction to the topic. I will review the materials again and again. Thank you. Good job.

A special thank you to Dr.Meisler for delivering this course with such respect and compassion. Another thank you to all the guest speakers for sharing their knowledge and experiences with us. Thank you to all of you for the work that you do. I am grateful for everything I have learned throughout this course. Very thorough, thought-provoking, and eye-opening. I would highly recommend it.

Where do I even begin. Checklist time.

1. I'm homebound, physically disabled, schizophrenic and autistic. This professor is a straight up hero. Infectious diseases are my big interest because I can help others. He speaks clearly and in a way I can understand.

2. Assignments were challenging, but fun and important.

3. I NEED more classes just like this one.

Dr. Richard Meisler did a great job at engaging the student about this very current and pressing matter. I want to thank him and those who he interviewed over the whole course for taking the time to make this available online. I am inspired to help others who are effected by HIV/AIDS. I hope to one day be able to utilize my time into helping others.

This has been one of the best Coursera courses that I have signed up so far. It provides a wide range of approaches to deal with the issue of AIDS. The interdisciplinary nature of the course provides in-depth knowledge about the Syndrome. The course is also structured in a way that it encourages us to watch the next video and complete the quiz.

This course would give you a comprehensive approach to HIV and AIDS. You will learn a lot about this history of the epidemic, the stigma associated with it, the political forces around the world that were involved and what their response was, and the academic literature in terms of research and treatment available. I loved it!

Wonderfull course. I highly recomend it. All the professors and people invited to share experiences are very well prepared, they speak in a way that it easy to understand. I learned a lot and realized that as a general doctor from another country still need so much to learn about just the basics of this epidemy. I loved it.

It was a very educative experience to understand the science and the social context of HIV/AIDS. The interviews with different people made the course feel more personal and humanized the disease, rather than simply presenting it as a medical problem to be researched on. The lived experiences of people give us hope.

This is a powerful and effective course. I appreciated the kindness conveyed by the instructor as he lectured and as he interviewed the various experts. The course itself was comprehensive, very human, and always interesting. I'd give this ten stars if I could. Thank you for a powerful learning experience.

It is just everything in one course: wisdom, social issues, history, story, biology (simply explained), health, drugs, stigma, families, people, lives! It goes around the world, it kills ghosts for people who's been followed by years of uncertainty.

Enjoyed this course. It is a course I would recommended to anybody who wants to learn about politics, Government, Medical research and Activism that is formed from the characteristics of a disease. I wish for a cure to come up faster.

A wonderful course that explains the science, politics and cultural experiences related to HIV. For someone who intends to study the impact of HIV-AIDS in the popular media, this course was a wonderful beginning.

I thank Dr. Meisler, and everyone else involved in this course for their excellent work and for enabling me to obtain the knowledge that I have acquired studying this course. Well done.

Very helpful in intro healcare edu on hiv/aids;

The course content is very colaborative and insightful by having interdiciplnary knowdges from different fields