Con Artist Nation: Scams, Schemes, and American Dreams

Harvard FAS

Thanks to television series and documentaries, Anna Delvey and Elizabeth Holmes became household names. But these contemporary con artists come from a long lineage of carnival barkers, snake oil salesmen, and self-proclaimed miracle workers. This class examines the conditions of American capitalism and political populism that gave way to a society of schemers and dupes. We will consider how exploitation and self-invention were ultimately bound up in issues of class, race, gender, and…