Anth 475 (R) Anthropology of Conspiracy Theory

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.” Lifehacker.

You may visit the supplementary material on the psychology of conspiracy theories covered in the lecture. It is not required.

Supplement: Beyond Belief

 

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.” BBC.

• Watch: Retro Report. (2016, Jun. 7). “Dungeons & Dragons: Satanic Panic.” Retro Report | The New York Times.

• Watch: Retro Report. (2014, Mar. 10). “McMartin Preschool: Anatomy of a Panic.” 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.

“‘The News’: Rumor or Propaganda

You may visit the supplementary material on “‘News’: Rumor, or Propaganda” covered in the lecture. It is not required.

Supplement: “The News”: Rumor or Propaganda

 

June 8 (F)- Seminar: Everything is Connected

• 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 Noise. Nautilus.
• Watch: PatrickJMT (2016, May 19). “The origin of countless conspiracy theories.” TED-Ed.

• Watch: Al Jazeera. (2017, Mar. 2). “Roland Barthes – How to Read the Signs in the News.” Al Jazeera English.

• Watch: Morris, E. (2013, Nov. 20). “Who Was the Umbrella Man? | JFK Assassination Documentary.” Op-Docs. New York Times.

You may visit the supplementary material on what happens when “everything is connected,” as covered in the lecture. It is not required.

Everything is Connected

Course Schedule

Go to the main page for the course schedule.

Course Information

Go to the main page for course information.

Course Assignments

Go to the course assignments page.

Course Discussions

Go to the course discussions page.