Preda, Alex 1960–

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Preda, Alex 1960–

PERSONAL:

Born October 11, 1960. Education: University of Bucharest, B.A.; Bielefeld University, Dr. rer. soc.; University of Konstanz, habil.

ADDRESSES:

Office—School of Social and Political Studies, University of Edinburgh, Adam Ferguson Bldg., 40 George Sq., Edinburgh EH8 9LL, Scotland. E-mail—A.Preda@ed.ac.uk.

CAREER:

Writer, educator. University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, lecturer in sociology.

WRITINGS:

AIDS, Rhetoric, and Medical Knowledge, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2004.

(Editor, with Karin Knorr Cetina) The Sociology of Financial Markets, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2005.

Contributor to periodicals, including British Journal of Sociology, History of Political Economy, and Journal of Historical Sociology.

SIDELIGHTS:

Alex Preda, a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, writes widely about the history of financial markets, technology in economic settings, and the sociology of medical knowledge, in particular AIDS research and virology. In his 2004 title AIDS, Rhetoric, and Medical Knowledge, Preda explores how social, political, and cultural narratives shape medical knowledge about epidemics, in particular the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. By analyzing medical articles and journal findings, the author shows how categories of social thought helped frame policies regarding AIDS education and advocacy. "The use of the word ‘rhetoric’ reminds the reader that issues of health involve political factors and indeed the case of AIDS is one of hope, controversy and politics," remarked Cudore L. Snell in the Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare. "It becomes apparent that the use of rhetoric in campaign language, the challenge of defining ‘AIDS risks’ and communicating these risks to people who may not perceive their risk is an ongoing challenge." According to Kelly Morris, writing in the Lancet, the author "is persuasive that medical knowledge is translated, communicated, selected, even funded, in ways that are dependent" on human constructs, and Snell concluded that AIDS, Rhetoric, and Medical Knowledge "illustrates how important culture is within prevention and health policies and with respect to how scientific research is organized and funded."