Post your comments here about the edited volume by West and Sanders.
See also the two reviews:
Heather: Book Review, Transparency and Conspiracy
Christine: Barnes — Final Book Review
Here is the schedule for class presentations of final papers:
April 17:
1. Lee
2. Nicole
3. David
4. Dylan
April 19:
1. Charlotte
2. Eugene
3. Daniel
4. Anna
April 24:
1. Jim
2. Amanda
3. Christine
4. Heather
Post your comments here about Gray’s book.
Jim’s review: Book Review of Matthew Gray
Lee’s review: Siegrist_Gray Book Review
Post your comments here about Don DeLillo’s book Libra.
And read the book reviews below:
Nicole: DeLillo Review NS
Anna: HIST 457 Book Review
Eugene: E_Hamrick_ Libra Book Review
Post your comments here about the conspiratorial art of Mark Lombardi.
Gerry Bull, Space Research Corporation and Armscor of Pretoria, South Africa, c. 1972-80 (5th Version) – Mark Lombardi (1951-2000). Source: Museum of Modern Art, New York
You can post comments here about the conspiracy theories you hear about in our everyday lives. Be sure to include some analysis, especially insofar as our readings are concerned!
Here’s an observation I recently made while researching at the Library of Congress:
Read the book reviews of Peter Knight’s Conspiracy Culture here, and post your comments on the book.
Whatever these lines mean, they’re undoubtedly getting us closer to who really shot JFK.
Book reviews of Knight’s book:
Charlotte: Book Review 3
Amanda: Conspiracy Culture Book Review
Video about conspiracy theories related to JFK’s assassination:
Error Morris, “The Umbrella Man”
Post your comments here on Daniel Pipes, Conspiracy: How the Paranoid Style Flourishes and Where It Comes From. Be sure to also read the book reviews below:
Daniel: Garcia — HIST457BookReview
David: book review
Dylan: HIST457bookreview
Post your comments here on the readings by Hofman and Tackett.
Here is a list of topics students have chosen to work on as we explore the alternative universe of conspiracy theories:
1. Aliens/Area 51 — Christine B.
2. Death of Princess Diana — Anna H.
3. Death of Marilyn Monroe — Heather T.
4. Assassinations of counter-cultural figures — Jim M.
5. Cover-up of Shakespeare’s true identity — Eugene H.
6. Conspiracy theories and video games — Daniel G.
7. Conspiracy theories about Catholic plots under Charles I (1630s-1640s) — Dylan
8. Conspiracy theories about KAL 007 — David
9. Cancer cure conspiracy theories — Nicole
10. AIDS conspiracy theories — Amanda
11. 9/11 conspiracy theories — Charlotte
12. Henry Ford’s conspiracy theories about Jews — Lee
Richard Hofstadter is often credited by scholars for having shaped early scholarly interest in conspiracy theories or what he famously called the “paranoid style.” Leave your comments here on his groundbreaking essay, “The Paranoid Style in American Politics.”
Richard Hofstadter
Our discussion now turns to Bernard Bailyn and Gordon Wood, and their interpretations of conspiracy theories in the American Revolution. Take note of the questions that Bailyn raises in his short essay on the topic. How does Wood critique Hofstadter’s analysis and what insights does he have about the relationship of conspiratorial thought to professional historical methodology?
“Washington Crossing the Delaware,” Emanuel Leutze (1851)
Leave your comments here regarding White’s article.
Here’s the list indicating who is reviewing which books this semester. Be sure to consult with your fellow reviewers to divide up the books for your class presentations.
Pipes, Conspiracy
* David, Daniel, Dylan
Knight, Conspiracy Culture
* Amanda, Charlotte
DeLillo, Libra
* Eugene, Anna, Nicole
Gray, Conspiracy Theories
* Jim, Lee
West and Sanders, Transparency and Conspiracy
* Christine, Heather
