A culture of conspiracy : apocalyptic visions in contemporary America / Michael Barkun.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barkun, Michael.

Series:

Comparative studies in religion and society ; 15.

Comparative studies in religion and society ; 15

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Millennialism--United States.

Millennialism.

Conspiracies--United States.

Conspiracies.

Human-alien encounters.

United States.

Human-alien encounters--United States.

Physical Description:

xiv, 306 pages ; 23 cm.

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, [2013]

Summary:

It is well known that some Americans are obsessed with conspiracies. Films, best-selling books, and television shows talk about plots by the Illuminati or sightings of black helicopters. But American society has changed dramatically since A Culture of Conspiracy was first published in 2001. In this revised and expanded edition, leading expert Michael Barkun delves deeper into America's conspiracy subculture, exploring the rise of 9/11 conspiracy theories, the "birther" controversy surrounding Barack Obama's American citizenship, and how the conspiracy landscape has changed with the rise of the Internet and other new media. Unraveling the extraordinary genealogies and permutations of these increasingly widespread conspiracies, Barkun shows how the web of urban legends has spread among subcultures on the Internet and through mass media, how a new style of conspiracy thinking has recently arisen, and how this phenomenon relates to larger changes in American culture. By looking closely at the manifestations of these ideas in a wide range of literature and source material, Barkun finds that America is in the throes of an unrivaled period of millenarian activity and underscores the importance of understanding why this phenomenon is permeating segments of mainstream American culture. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The Nature of Conspiracy Belief x

2 Millennialism, Conspiracy, and Stigmatized Knowledge 15

3 New World Order Conspiracies I: The New World Order and the Illuminati 39

4 New World Order Conspiracies II: A World of Black Helicopters 66

5 UFO Conspiracy Theories, 1975-1990 80

6 UFOs Meet the New World Order: Jim Keith and David Icke 99

7 Armageddon Below 111

8 UFOs and the Search for Scapegoats I: Anti-Catholicism and Anti-Masonry 126

9 UFOs and the Search for Scapegoats II: Anti-Semitism among the Aliens 141

10 September 11 Conspiracies: The First Phase 159

11 September 11 Conspiracies: The Second Phase 171

12 Conspiracy Theories about Barack Obama 183

13 Conspiracists and Violence 193

14 Apocalyptic Expectations about the Year 2012 206

15 Conclusion 219.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780520276826

0520276825

OCLC:

830836446