Anth 475 (R) Anthropology of Conspiracy Theory

Choose one of the three topics below (chemtrails, climate denialism, or flat earth):

Resources on chemtrails conspiracy theories

Read:

• Vine, M., and M. Carey. (2017). Mimesis and Conspiracy. Cambridge Journal of Anthropology 35(2) 47–64.
• Nagle, A. (2016, Oct. 7). The Great American Chemtrail. Current Affairs.

Resources on climate change denialism

Watch:

• Media Matters. (2017, Jun. 3). Alex Jones on climate change. Media Matters.

Read:

• Emery, D. (2017, May). Did Donald Trump Claim Global Warming Is a Hoax? Snopes.
• Uscinski, J.E., et. al. 2017. “Climate Change Conspiracy Theories.” In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate Change.
• Hornsley, M.J., et al. (2018). Relationships among conspiratorial beliefs, conservatism and climate scepticism across nations. Nature Climate Change (doi:10.1038/s41558-018-0157-2).
• Birch, H. (2014, Mar. 31). Agenda 21: The UN, Sustainability and Right-Wing Conspiracy Theory. Southern Poverty Law Center.

Resources on flat and hollow earth conspiracy theories

Watch:

• ABC News (2018, Jan. 25). Inside a Flat Earth convention, where nearly everyone believes Earth isn’t round. ABC News.

Read:

• Effingham, N. (2018, Apr. 25). How to reason with flat earthers (it may not help though). The Conversation.
• Marshall, M. (2018, May 2). The universe is an egg and the moon isn’t real: notes from a Flat Earth conference. The Guardian.
• Gavin, B. (2018, May 2). ‘If you think you’ve ever been there, you’re wrong’: Flat Earthers insist Australia is FAKE and that the country is the ‘biggest hoax ever created’. DailyMail.
• Ambrose, G. (2017, Jul. 7). These Coloradans say Earth is flat. And gravity’s a hoax. Now, they’re being persecuted. Denver Post.
• Awford, J. (2017, Dec. 25). The Hole Truth. The Sun.