Anth 475 (R) ANTHROPOLOGY OF CONSPIRACY
A 20 point quiz reviewing the syllabus is due on May 21st at midnight.
WEEK 1- “THE CENTRE CANNOT HOLD”
May 9 (W)- Seminar: Introduction- Transparency and Opacity
- Read: Andersen, K. (2017, Sept. 7). How America Lost Its Mind. The Atlantic.
- Read: Brotherton, R. (2015). Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, Pp. 1-17. London: Bloomsbury.
- Watch: Morris, E. (2013, Nov. 21). “November 22, 1963 – Errol Morris JFK Assassination Documentary.[14mins].” Op-Docs. New York Times.
- Watch: Retro Report. (2017, May 15). “Conspiracy Theories and Fake News from JFK to Pizzagate.[13mins].” New York Times.
May 11 (F)- Seminar: What’s the Harm?
- Read: Brotherton, R. (2015). Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, Pp. 39-98. London: Bloomsbury.
- Read: Lewis, P. (2018, Feb. 2). ‘Fiction is outperforming reality’: how YouTube’s algorithm distorts truth. The Guardian.
- Watch: Vice. (2018, Mar. 5). How YouTube’s Algorithm Could Prioritize Conspiracy Theories [3mins]. Vice.
WEEK 2- PARANOIA AS METHOD
May 14 (M)- Seminar: The Paranoid Style
- Read: Hofstadter, R. (1964, Nov.). The Paranoid Style in American Politics. Harper’s Magazine (Nov.): 77-86.
- Read: Brotherton, R. (2015). Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories, Pp. 99-118. London: Bloomsbury.
- Watch: Gray, R. (2017, Feb. 17). “Have Conspiracy Theories Gone Mainstream? [3.5mins].” The Atlantic.
May 16 (W)- Seminar: The Age of Anger
- Read: Mishra, P. (2016, Dec. 8). Welcome to the age of anger. The Guardian.
- Read: Friedman, J. (2012). “Diametric to concentric dualism: Cosmopolitan intellectuals and the re-configuration of the state.” In Contesting the State: The Dynamics of Resistance and Control, eds. A. Hobard and B. Kapferer, Pp. 261-290. Wantage: Sean Kingston.
- Read: Campion-Vincent, V. (2005). “From Evil Others to Evil Elites: A Dominant Pattern in Conspiracy Theories Today.” In Rumor Mills: The Social Impact of Rumor and Legend, eds. G.A. Fine, et al., eds., Pp. 103-122. New Brunswick: Aldine Transaction.
May 18 (F)- Seminar: Paranoiac Ideologies
- Read: Aupers, S. (2012). ‘Trust no one’: Modernization, paranoia and conspiracy culture. European Journal of Communication 27(1): 22-34.
- Read: Hunt, J. (1999). “Paranoid, Critical, Methodological, Dalí, Koolhaas, and…” In Paranoia Within Reason: Casebook on Conspiracy as Explanation, eds. G.E. Marcus, Pp. 21-30. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
WEEK 3- WHO TRUSTS THE GOVERNMENT?
May 21 (M)- Seminar: Trust and Reasoning
- Read: Selections from Dentith, M.R.X. (2014). The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories. New York: Palgrave.
- Read: Keeley, B.L. (1999). Of Conspiracy Theories. The Journal of Philosophy 96(3): 109-126.
May 23 (W)- Seminar: Trustworthiness, Reputation, and Authority
- Read: Selections from Dentith, M.R.X. (2014). The Philosophy of Conspiracy Theories. New York: Palgrave.
- Read: Gellner, E. (1988). “Trust, Cohesion, and the Social Order.” In Trust: Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations, ed. D. Gambetta, Pp. 142-157. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
- Read: Origgi, G. (2018, Mar. 14). Say goodbye to the information age: it’s all about reputation now. Aeon.
May 25 (F)- Seminar: Mistrust, Chemtrails, and Science Denial
- Read: Carey, M. (2017). Mistrust: An Ethnographic Theory, Pp. 1-13, 85-106. Chicago: HAU Books.
- Read: Bakalaki, A. (2016). Chemtrails, Crisis, and Loss in an Interconnected World. Visual Anthropology Review 32(1): 12–23.
- Read: McIntyre, L. (2018). Post-truth, Pp. 17-34. Cambridge: MIT Press.
WEEK 4- Discovering Locke’s “MADMAN”
May 28 (M)- [Holiday, NO CLASS]
May 30 (W)- Seminar: The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories, Part I
- Read: Selections of Brotherton, R. (2015). Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories. New York: Bloomsbury.
June 1 (F)- Seminar: The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories, Part II
- Read: Selections of Brotherton, R. (2015). Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories. New York: Bloomsbury.
- Read: Hogenboom, M. (2018, Jan. 24). The enduring appeal of conspiracy theories. BBC.
WEEK 5- THE SIGNAL IN THE NOISE
June 4 (M)- Seminar: The Psychology of Conspiracy Theories, Part III
- Read: Selections of Brotherton, R. (2015). Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories. New York: Bloomsbury.
- Read: Cassam, Q. (2015, Mar. 13). Bad thinkers. Aeon.
- Watch: Lifehacker. (2017, Apr. 24). “The Appeal of Conspiracy Theories [3.5mins].” Lifehacker.
June 6 (W)- Seminar: “The News”: Rumor or Propaganda
- Read: McIntyre, L. (2018). Post-truth, Pp. 63-122. Cambridge: MIT Press.
- Watch: Curtis, A. (2010). “Paranoia and Moral Panics [6.5mins].” BBC.
- Watch: Retro Report. (2016, Jun. 7). “Dungeons & Dragons: Satanic Panic [13mins].” Retro Report | The New York Times.
- Watch: Retro Report. (2014, Mar. 10). “McMartin Preschool: Anatomy of a Panic [13mins].” Retro Report | The New York Times.
- Read one of the sections on either rumor or propaganda found in the “‘The News’: Rumor or Propaganda” blog post. Make sure you comment on the post.
June 8 (F)- Seminar: The Structure of the Fait Divers
- Read: Guinan, A.K. (2002). “A Severed Head Laughed: Stories of Divinatory Interpretation.” In Magic and Divination in the Ancient World, eds. L. Ciraolo and J. Seidel, Pp. 7-40. Leiden: Brill.
- Read: Jaekl, P. (2017, Jan. 29). Why We Hear Voices in Random. Nautilus.
- Watch: PatrickJMT (2016, May 19). “The origin of countless conspiracy theories [3.5mins].” TED-Ed.
- Watch: Al Jazeera. (2017, Mar. 2). “Roland Barthes – How to Read the Signs in the News [3mins].” Al Jazeera English.
- Watch: Morris, E. (2013, Nov. 20). “Who Was the Umbrella Man? | JFK Assassination Documentary [6.5mins].” Op-Docs. New York Times.
WEEK 6- THE PROBLEM WITH CRITIQUE
June 11 (M)- Seminar: “Has Critique Run out of Steam”
- Read: Latour, B. 2002. Why Has Critique Run out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern. Critical Inquiry 30(2): 225-248.
- Oelbaum, J. (2018, May 15). “The Blood Ritual That Lives on YouTube.” Gizmodo.
- Watch: Curtis, A. (2009). “Oh Dearism [7mins].” BBC.
June 13 (W)- Seminar: UFOs
- Read: Selections from Lepselter, S. (2016). The Resonance of Unseen Things: Poetics, Power, Captivity, and UFOs in the American Uncanny. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
June 15 (F)- Seminar: Lizard People
- Read: Selections from Lepselter, S. (2016). The Resonance of Unseen Things: Poetics, Power, Captivity, and UFOs in the American Uncanny. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
- Watch: Vice. (2012, Aug. 24). David Icke: Conspiracy of the Lizard Illuminati (Part 1/2) [8.5mins]. Vice.
- Watch: Vice. (2012, Aug. 24). David Icke: Conspiracy of the Lizard Illuminati (Part 2/2) [10.5mins]. Vice.
WEEK 7- POST-TRUTH POLITICS
June 18 (M)- Seminar: Conspiracy Theories of and by Elites
- Join in the discussion titled “George Soros, Barak Obama, and Donald Trump”
June 20 (W)- Seminar: Contemporary Political Conspiracy Theories
- Join at least two of the remaining posts in the “Course Discussions” section.
June 22 (F)- Seminar: Understanding Post-truth Politics
- Read: McIntyre, L. (2018). Post-truth, Pp. 123-172. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Course Information
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Course Assignments
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Course Discussions
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