''A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America'' is a 2003 non-fiction book written by Michael Barkun, professor emeritus of political science at the

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 13 ...

Overview

Along with the Internet playing a key role in introducing individuals to beliefs once consigned to the outermost fringe of American political and religious life, Barkun points to the convergence of two phenomena that influence contemporary American

conspiracism A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

: * The rise of "improvisational

millennialism Millennialism (from millennium, Latin for "a thousand years") or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief advanced by some religious denominations that a Golden Age or Paradise will occur on Earth prior to the final judgment and future ...

" — a belief in an imminent destruction of the world and the creation of a new world as a result of the triumph of good over evil, which is independent from any single religious or secular tradition (e.g., Christian premillennial dispensationalism, etc.) and indiscriminately syncretizes ideas from different traditions (e.g., Western esotericism, Eastern religions, New Age movement, fringe science, radical politics, etc.). * The popularity of " stigmatized knowledge" — claims to the truth that the claimants regard as verified (e.g.,

climate change denial Climate change denial, or global warming denial, is denial, dismissal, or doubt that contradicts the scientific consensus on climate change, including the extent to which it is caused by humans, its effects on nature and human society, or th ...

, location hypotheses of Atlantis, astrology, alchemy, folk medicine, alien abduction,

extraterrestrial hypothesis The extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) proposes that some unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are best explained as being physical spacecraft occupied by extraterrestrial life or non-human aliens, or non-occupied alien probes from other planets vi ...

for UFOs, suppressed cancer cures, etc.), despite the marginalization of those claims by the authoritative institutions that conventionally distinguish between knowledge and error (e.g., academia, scientific community, etc.).

Reviews

Publishers Weekly gave the book a positive review by stating "Scholarly but fluently written and free of excessive jargon, Barkun's exploration of the conspiratorial worldview combines sociological depth with a deadpan appreciation of pop culture and raises serious questions about the replacement of democracy by conspiracy as the dominant paradigm of political action in the public mind." In a February 2004 review, writer and political blogger Daniel Pipes wrote:

References

External links

* University of California Press

::Chapter 5

* Google Books

* Amazon.com: Hardcove

Paperbac

*

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

Video Library

Reviews * Daniel Pipes, Pipes, Daniel.
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/nowiki> Old Conspiracies, New Beliefs'. ''The New York Sun'' (13 January 2004). Retrieved on 2011-07-12 *Paul Boyer (historian)">Boyer, Paul S.
The Strange World of Conspiracy Theories
'. ''The Christian Century'' (27 July 2004). Retrieved on 2011-07-12 *Pratt, Ray.
Review
'. ''The Montana Professor'' (Spring 2005). Retrieved on 2011-07-12 *Daschkea, Dereck.
A Review of
'. ''Terrorism and Political Violence''. Volume 18, Issue 4 (2006). Retrieved on 2011-07-12 {{DEFAULTSORT:Culture Of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions In Contemporary America, A 2003 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Apocalypticism Books about conspiracy theories Millenarianism University of California Press books Books about the far right Conspiracy theories in the United States

Overview

Reviews

See also

References

External links