PAPS to screen Fig Trees, a film exploring AIDS in South Africa

WHAT: The Political Art and the Public Sphere (PAPS) series at the University of Illinois Springfield presents a screening and discussion of the documentary Fig Trees. The documentary tells the story of Zackie Achmat, who in 1999 went on a treatment strike, refusing to take AIDS treatment pills until they were widely available to all South Africans.

WHEN: Monday, November 12, 2012 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS

DETAILS: Achmat’s symbolic act helped build his Treatment Action Campaign into a national movement—yet with each passing month, Zackie grew sicker. Fig Trees is a documentary opera that tells the story of Zackie's treatment strike and the larger story of the fight for pills on two continents.

The PAPS series is a monthly event on the UIS campus hosted by Dr. Richard Gilman-Opalsky, associate professor of Political Philosophy. This fall, Dr. Michael J. Murphy, assistant professor of Women and Gender Studies at UIS will co-host and moderate each PAPS event.

This semester, PAPS marks the 30th anniversary of the discovery and naming of the HIV virus (1982-2012). The fall series is dedicated to raising social, cultural, and political questions related to HIV, particularly how the disease has been treated as an affliction of a “despised sexuality,” as well as how different communities have been impacted by and have addressed the problem. All events are free and open to the public.

This event is co-sponsored by the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series and UIS LGBTQA Resource Office.

For more information, contact Dr. Gilman-Opalsky at 217/206-8328 or email rgilm3@uis.edu.