It's All a Plot: Uncovering the Conspiracy Narrative

Catalog description

The Masons, the grassy knoll, birtherism. While we seem to live in an especially paranoid moment, conspiracy narratives have been around as long as people have been able to whisper and needed to explain social inequities, major calamities, or the workings of power and oppression. This course will explore the nature of conspiracy narratives, both those we find in fiction and those that circulate among us in the “real” world. We will examine conspiracy narratives across genres and media, including novels and film, as well as investigate their appearance on various news platforms. Do these narratives share common attributes and motivations? What roles do race, class, and gender play in their construction? What are the ramifications of their proliferation for democratic societies? The texts we explore may include novels like Ishmael Reed’s Mumbo Jumbo and Don Delillo’s Libra, as well as films like the 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Sorry to Bother You. We’ll also analyze some of the more well-known conspiracies promulgated by such internet sites as InfoWars. Bring your tin hat, your powers of analysis, and a healthy dose of skepticism.