The conference will focus on a number of core themes: Papers are welcomed on virtually all topics and themes, independently of time, period and space, as well as interdisciplinary perspectives. Also papers of comparative phenomena are welcome. Among the themes of interest are the following:

• AIDS and Cultural Texts: Power and Representation. Representations of AIDS in art, movies, music, poetry, religion and literature from the 1980s until today. How are testimonial narratives mediated and represented?
• Silences and taboos in discourses on HIV/AIDS.
• Aesthetic responses to the challenge. Rituals, customs, and fetishism.
• Cultural practices that influence the spread of HIV/AIDS
• AIDS and the collective and individual identities: Race, Class, Gender etc
• AIDS and Politics, Lobbying and Activism: Power, Representation and Activism. Constructions and reconstructions of AIDS in political and faith and ideology based discourse, legal issues and policy making throughout the world. Who has the authority to speak and who is silenced?
• AIDS and theory: Cultural Studies, Queer Studies, Religious Studies, History, Anthropology, Sociology and all related disciplines. How do we theorize and analyze experiences and the meaning of illness?
• AIDS and psychosocial affects and effects. Cultures of silence. Papers will be considered on related themes and topics from a wide range of perspectives. 500 word abstracts should be submitted to the organising comitee in English, Spanish, German or French as e-mail attachment by 15th of October 2004. The conference languages will be English and Spanish.

Papers should be of approximately 30 minutes duration (circa 8 - 10 pages). Other forms of presentation, for instance workshops, panel debates and poster sessions will be considered on request.

Graduate and postgraduate students are encouraged to attend and present papers. Selected papers from the conference will be published in book form (in Spanish and English).

Abstracts are to be submitted by the 15th of October 2004, along with the presenter’s name, address, telephone, email, and institutional affiliation. All correspondence for this conference will be conducted via email. You will be notified by the 25th of October whether your proposal has been accepted or rejected. Full conference papers should be submitted by the 1st of December 2004. Abstracts and summaries of the conference papers will be made available at the conference web page from November 2004

For further information, please visit the conference webpage or contact the organising comitee at: info@enkidumagazine.com