Anth 475 (R) Anthropology of Conspiracy Theory
Read and watch from one of the following selections on either “Rumor” or “Propaganda.”
1. Rumor
Read:
- Silverstein, P.A. (2002). An Excess of Truth: Violence, Conspiracy Theorizing and the Algerian Civil War. Anthropological Quarterly 75(4): 643-674.
or
- Bubandt, N. (2008). Rumors, Pamphlets, and the Politics of Paranoia in Indonesia. The Journal of Asian Studies 67(3): 789-817.
2. Propaganda
Read:
- Orwell, G. (1968). “Politics and the English language.” In The collected essays, journalism and letters of George Orwell, Vol. 4, eds. S. Orwell and I. Angos, Pp. 127-140. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Javanovich.
Watch:
- Al Jazeera. (2017, Mar. 2). “Noam Chomsky – The 5 Filters of the Mass Media Machine.” Al Jazeera English.
- PBS Idea Channel (2016, Jul. 20). “But Wait: How DOES The Media Tell You What To Think?” PBS Idea Channel.
You may visit the supplementary material on “‘News’: Rumor, or Propaganda” covered in the lecture. It is not required.
Back to: Week 5: The Signal in the Noise