American Conspiracies

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course will explore modern conspiracy theories in and about the United States, discovering what they tell us about American culture and about how the rest of the world perceives the United States. The "truth" we will be seeking will not necessarily be whether secret forces have ever conspired or currently conspire to influence specific world events, but what conspiracy theorizing can tell us about modern American identities, communities, and social hierarchies including race, gender, class, religion, and national origin. In other words, we will take theories of conspiracy seriously as vernacular narratives that contribute to collective and individual identity formation, produce powerful symbolic systems for ordering and inverting hierarchies, and help communities negotiate religious, political, and ethnic differences. Beginning with the Cold War and moving on to the War on Terror, we will discuss why some theories gain preeminence in certain historical contexts and among different social groups. The course will have a transnational bend, studying how theories of conspiracy travel across national boundaries. In addition, we will interrogate the role the label "conspiracy theory" plays within contemporary dynamics of knowledge/power. What types of knowledge are respected and acceptable and what types are stigmatized and mocked, and why? Assignments include in-class presentations, a take-home midterm, and a research-based final paper.