Daniel Defert
Encyclopedia
Daniel Defert is a prominent French AIDS
activist and the founding president (1984-1991) of the first AIDS awareness organization in France, AIDES
. He started the organization after the death of his partner, the French philosopher Michel Foucault
. He is an alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud.
A professor of sociology, Daniel Defert has been Assistant (1969-1970), Maître-assistant (1971-1985), then Maître de Conférence (from 1985) at the Centre Universitaire of Vincennes, which became in 1972, Université de Paris VIII Vincennes. He has been a member of the scientific committee for human sciences of the International Conference on AIDS (1986-94); member of the World Commission for AIDS (World Health Organization
) (1988-93); member of the National Committee for AIDS (1989-98), of the Global AIDS Policy Coalition of Harvard University
(1994-1997), and of the French "Haut Comité de la Santé Publique" (from 1998).
Daniel Defert is author of numerous articles in the domain of ethno-iconography and public health
. He has been awarded the decoration of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur and received in 1998 the Prix Alexander Onassis for the creation of Aides.
in France and their relationship lasted from 1963 until Foucault's death in 1984. They described their relationship as a "state of passion". It was Foucault's death from AIDS, a disease about which little was known at the time, that led Defert to enter the field of AIDS activism. He also co-edited with François Ewald volume 4 of Dits et Ecrits of Michel Foucault (1994), a posthumous collection of Foucault's thought.
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
activist and the founding president (1984-1991) of the first AIDS awareness organization in France, AIDES
AIDES
AIDES is a French community-based non-profit organisation that was founded in 1984 by Daniel Defert following the death of his lifelong companion Michel Foucault...
. He started the organization after the death of his partner, the French philosopher Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
. He is an alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud.
A professor of sociology, Daniel Defert has been Assistant (1969-1970), Maître-assistant (1971-1985), then Maître de Conférence (from 1985) at the Centre Universitaire of Vincennes, which became in 1972, Université de Paris VIII Vincennes. He has been a member of the scientific committee for human sciences of the International Conference on AIDS (1986-94); member of the World Commission for AIDS (World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
) (1988-93); member of the National Committee for AIDS (1989-98), of the Global AIDS Policy Coalition of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
(1994-1997), and of the French "Haut Comité de la Santé Publique" (from 1998).
Daniel Defert is author of numerous articles in the domain of ethno-iconography and public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
. He has been awarded the decoration of Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur and received in 1998 the Prix Alexander Onassis for the creation of Aides.
Life with Foucault
Daniel Defert met Foucault while he was a philosophy student at the University of Clermont-FerrandUniversity of Clermont-Ferrand
The University of Clermont-Ferrand was officially founded in 1896, by merging of two existing faculties and a medical school. In 1976, due to political issues, the University split between University Clermont-Ferrand I - University of Auvergne and University Clermont-Ferrand II - Blaise Pascal...
in France and their relationship lasted from 1963 until Foucault's death in 1984. They described their relationship as a "state of passion". It was Foucault's death from AIDS, a disease about which little was known at the time, that led Defert to enter the field of AIDS activism. He also co-edited with François Ewald volume 4 of Dits et Ecrits of Michel Foucault (1994), a posthumous collection of Foucault's thought.