AbstractsCommunication

The objective of this paper is to analyze the assumptions and knowledge claims that lie behind so-­‐called ‘local’ HIV/AIDS interventions, using a very small organization in Western Kenya as a case study. Theoretically, we take a point of departure on Catherine Campbell and Hakan Seckinelgin’s observations on knowledge behind HIV interventions. We combine these with James Ferguson’s cultural styles to uncover what the assumptions informing interventions are, and how these compare and contrast with the modes of conduct that the targets of interventions make use of. The paper concludes that there are a number of different knowledge claims influencing interventions, some of which are in line with the subjectivities of the targets, and some of which are very much not so. Specifically, the interventions that are informed by local, marginalized knowledge were found to be a much better fit for local subjectivities than those informed by western hegemonic forms of knowledge.