Since its initial description in 1981, nearly half a million Americans have become infected with the HIV virus and died of AIDS.  HIV/AIDS is the most dramatic, pervasive, and tragic pandemic in recent history.  This course will explore the basic biology of the HIV virus and its effects upon the human body, the magnitude of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, prospects for treatment of those afflicted with the disease, and social, political, economic, and legal issues associated with HIV/AIDS disease.