Source Document Analysis Worksheet 1
Author’s name (last, first) Publication date
De Souza, Rebecca 2010
Title
Women living with HIV: Stories of powerlessness and agency
Book series OR Journal
Women’s studies international forum Location and publisher OR volume, issue, pages
Vol. 33 Iss. 3 Pg. 244-252
1. What is the source’s stated purpose (the argument or thesis)? A large number of married women are at higher risk for HIV than previously believed because of the long history of India’s patriarchy.
2. What evidence does the author provide to support his or her main argument? How is the author attempting to logically prove his or her thesis and how does this affect the organization of the document? The author tells the stories of 2 women who contracted HIV because of their husbands and were then blamed for it (even though it was the husbands who gave them the disease.) The author gives back round information about HIV in India and how India is a patriarchal society, she then gives 2 real-life examples of women who are living with HIV and how it came to happen.
3. Who is the audience? What does the author assume the audience already knows about the topic? The audience is health officials or people who are interested in women’s health. The author assumes the audience knows about HIV, how it is contracted, and the different prevention methods of HIV.
4. Describe the author’s methods (i.e. how does the author know what he or she knows)? In your opinion were they appropriate why or why not?
The author interviewed two Indian women in addition to primary research. This is how she knows what the cultural barriers are in India in addition to the personal examples. She then proved how the examples of these two women were consistent with previous findings in her primary research. Also, she discussed how difficult it was to find women who were willing to talk because the subject matter has a stigma connected to it. I do think that her method of interviewing was effective because it brings a real quality to her study. Many times when talking about HIV prevention all there are are numbers and statistics; however, in order to make the thesis more persuasive she presents real women who are dealing with the real issues of HIV because of their husbands.
5. To what other sources (theorist, researchers, artists) does the author refer? Explain the specific ideas the author draws upon from these other sources to support his or her own argument (the theoretical framework). The author refers to many other researchers who have looked into HIV and narratives of HIV positive men and women and the stigma that is associated with being HIV positive. In addition to previous HIV research the author has stated many studies about the patriarchal culture of India and how women are influenced by living in this kind of culture. For example, in a referred research project in south India the findings stated that the majority of HIV positive women were the primary caregivers for their infected family members but stigma prevented them from seeking external support, this stigma can lead to violence against women. The author draws on this source in her interview with the 2 women and found out that both women were beaten once it was found out that they were HIV positive.
6. What are the connections between this source and your project? How useful or applicable is this source’s approach to your own project? How is yours new and different? This source discusses HIV among women in India. It useful to my project because I am able to gain insight in the research that has already been done on the problems between HIV prevention and cultural barriers among women. I am also able to find out more about the stigma of HIV in women and how feasible it would be to be able to talk to women about it in India. My project is different in that I am wanting to look more into the prevention programs that are being implemented along with the cultural barriers with implementing those programs. It is known that married women are contracting HIV due to living in a patriarchal society; however, what is being done to overcome that barrier. Or are the preventions programs the same regardless of land or culture.
Source Document Analysis Worksheet 2
Author’s name (last, first) Publication date
Ghosh, Jayati Feb. 2009
Title
Vulnerability to HIV among women of reproductive age in the slums of Delhi and Hyerabad, India
Book series OR Journal
Social Science & Medicine Location and publisher OR volume, issue, pages
Vol. 68 Iss. 4 Pgs. 638-642
1. What is the source’s stated purpose (the argument or thesis)?Unequal power relations and differential socioeconomic entitlements between men and women result in vulnerable situations for women.
2. What evidence does the author provide to support his or her main argument? How is the author attempting to logically prove his or her thesis and how does this affect the organization of the document? Women in India comprise more than 39% of all HIV cases. While women carry the bulk of the burden they also have lower literacy than males, are married earlier in life, and have lower economic resources. The author is using article references and statistitics such as these to help the reader see that there may be a link between the burden of the disease and the socioeconomic/power differences between male and female. For example, if a woman is less literate than a male, then she is less likely to know the dangers of HIV and how to prevent it. Since these women live in a culture where they are not able to get an education this puts them at a major disadvantage. The author then discuses in length the socioeconomic differences in India and the implications that has on women’s health in addition to women’s autonomy and lack of HIV education.
3. Who is the audience? What does the author assume the audience already knows about the topic? The audience is health officials and people who are interested in HIV and women’s health. The author assumes the reader already has a knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention, cultural differences and the problems that cause in health programs, etc. etc.
4. Describe the author’s methods (i.e. how does the author know what he or she knows)? In your opinion were they appropriate why or why not? A survey was given through different health posts or child health clinics that were set up by the city’s Municipal Corporations. There were also unstructured interviews given to 32 women of reproductive age. In my opinion the methods were very appropriate because they covered multiple aspects. Not only was a surveyed used but also interviews were given. This allows the researchers to get many types of data to make for a more comprehensive study. A problem with the method of the interview is that some of the meaning may be lost when translating into English; however, when dealing with other languages many times this is a problem.
5. To what other sources (theorist, researchers, artists) does the author refer? Explain the specific ideas the author draws upon from these other sources to support his or her own argument (the theoretical framework). The author uses demographical research on India (eg. the population of women vs. men, how many are infected with HIV, level of education, when do women get married, etc. etc. ) in order to set the background for the project that is taking place. The author then proves the previous researchers’ findings through the survey given in addition to the interviews.
6. What are the connections between this source and your project? How useful or applicable is this source’s approach to your own project? How is yours new and different? My project does look at the cultural and socio-economic differences between sexes in India, in addition to how education there is on HIV prevention. However, my project will focus more on how the women feel about the programs that are being implemented in addition to if they feel it is working. Hopefully my project will not focus so much on the social/cultural aspects of this problem but rather what is being done to jump the barrier and is it working.
