Changing the Dialogue: C. Everett Koop, Public Health, and the AIDS Epidemic
by Ashley Baxstrom
The “culture wars” weren’t always so black and white. In Friday’s presentation of “Reforming Sex,” Anthony Petro showed how politics, science, culture and media can cross boundaries and transform a national dialogue.
Petro, an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies and Faculty Fellow at NYU, spoke for the first of this spring’s Bridging Seminars by NYU’s Center for Religion and Media. The chapter, “Reforming Sex: C. Everett Koop and the Moral Politics of Public Health,” is part of a greater work-in-progress: “After the Wrath of God: AIDS, Sexuality, and American Religion.” The respondent was Helena Hansen, a Addiction Psychiatry Fellow at NYU Medical Center.
While the paper in whole examines American religion’s role in shaping public discussion on morality and sexuality – particularly concerning public health and the AIDS epidemic – Friday’s selection focused on Surgeon General under President Reagan, C. Everett Koop, and the surprising stance the evangelical conservative took. Continue Reading →
