Historian
Dr George Severs is a historian of HIV/AIDS, sexual violence and sexual health in modern Britain. He is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland where he is working on a history of sexual health and race. Before moving to Geneva, George was Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London where he worked on a history of HIV/AIDS and sexual violence as part of the Wellcome-funded SHaME project led by Professor Joanna Bourke. George is also in the process of turning his PhD thesis, titled ‘HIV/AIDS activism in England, c. 1982-1997’, into a book with Bloomsbury Academic. George is a leading oral historian, sitting on the Editorial Board of Oral History, the journal of the UK’s Oral History Society (OHS), and as Secretary of the OHS’ LGBTQ Special Interest Group (or ‘SIG’). In 2019-20, George was a Holstein Doctoral Fellow in Queer and Trans Studies in Religion at the University of California, Riverside.
Radical Acts: HIV/AIDS Activism in Late Twentieth-Century England
In May 2024 my book Radical Acts: HIV/AIDS Activism in Late Twentieth-Century England was published by Bloomsbury Academic.
Order from Gay’s the Word, The Bookish Type, Bloomsbury, News from Nowhere, or wherever you usually buy your books.
Reviews of Radical Acts
“Radical Acts is a breath-taking analysis of activism against the HIV/AIDS epidemic that blends local, street-level confrontations with everyday acts of engagement and friendship. George Severs explores the diversity of activist movements: conflicts, creativity, silences, and solidarity. This perfectly crafted and surprisingly optimistic book also hints at the future of activism.” – Joanna Bourke, Birkbeck, University of London
“George Severs’ book is deeply scholarly and wonderfully readable at the same time. It charts the progress of HIV activism here in the UK, its battle with stigma and exclusion, its triumphs and its challenges, its links with queer radicalism, and the continuing need we all have for both. This is an illuminating and essential story.” – Lord Chris Smith, Master of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge
“With an engaging writing style, Severs combines insightful
theorizing with rich detail. Through the wealth of experiences it
narrates, and its careful analysis, Radical Acts does not only look back at a complex historical moment but also makes sense of it for our future.” – Jaime García-Iglesias, University of Edinburgh
“AIDS activism has taken many forms with variable identities and stages. George Severs’ book ranges widely and with insight over activist groups from UK ACTUP to Positively Women, from religious groups such as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to the Jewish AIDS Trust. Using oral histories, it draws our attention to quieter activism, to the growth of the ‘AIDS sector’ and to the continuing international significance of activist links and connections. A valuable addition to the history of HIV/AIDS activism.” – Virginia Berridge, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
“George Severs sensitively and boldly combines an unusual range of evidence to extend our historiographical understanding of what radical, community and activist has meant in the context of HIV/AIDS in England. He includes more familiar (but contested) accounts of direct action on the streets alongside everyday activism in the workplace, universities and the Church, to more broadly examine the reaches of activism and key actors involved.” – Wendy Rickard, Newcastle University
Book launch events
The Bookish Type, Leeds
Thursday 27th June
“As part of Queer History Club we are thrilled to welcome George Severs and Mick Ward to talk about AIDS Activism in Late 20th-Century England.”
More information and tickets available here.
Gay’s the Word launch NOW SOLD OUT
Author George Severs will be joined by two fantastic panelists: activist and friend of Gay’s the Word Jonathan Blake, and historian Wendy Rickard.
Saturday 25th May, doors 7pm.
Some images from the launch at Gay’s the Word are featured below.
George Severs 