A Culture of Conspiracy
Cover, featuring the "Eye of Providence" on the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States, which appears on the United States one-dollar bill. | |
| Author | Michael Barkun |
|---|---|
| Published | 2003 (University of California Press; 1st edition) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 255 |
| ISBN | 0-520-23805-2 |
| OCLC | 51305869 |
| Preceded by | Religion and the Racist Right |
| Followed by | Chasing Phantoms |
A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America is a 2003 non-fiction book written by Michael Barkun, then a political scientist at Syracuse University. It was published by University of California Press.
Background
The author, Michael Barkun, is a political scientist,[1][2] then working for Syracuse University.[1] His previous book, Religion and the Racist Right: The Origins of the Christian Identity Movement, focused on extreme religion.[1][3] The book was published in 2003 by University of California Press.[4]
Summary
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:
- The rise of "improvisational millennialism" — 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 dispensational premillennialism, 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, location hypotheses of Atlantis, astrology, alchemy, folk medicine, alien abduction, extraterrestrial hypothesis 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, calling it "scholarly but fluently written and free of excessive jargon", and wrote that it "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."[4] Paul Boyer described it as "in the tradition of studies of the cultural underground", and that Barkun "demonstrating the patience of Job, [...] only occasionally ventures a mild judgment". He concluded that "Barkun’s explorations, like the canary in the coal mine, warn us of what may lie ahead."[1]
In a February 2004 review, writer and political blogger Daniel Pipes called the book "soberly presented" and "important", yet about a "frightening prospect" of increasing conspiracism.[5] Ray Pratt said that "despite intelligent efforts to frame the topic conceptually and theoretically, still leaves [him] seeking answers to some bigger questions about why the phenomenon of conspiracy culture persists and even seems to be growing".[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Boyer, Paul S. (2004-07-27). "Make Believe". The Christian Century. Vol. 121, no. 15. Chicago. pp. 32–35. ISSN 0009-5281. Retrieved 2026-03-17.
- ^ a b Pratt, Ray (Spring 2005). "Review". The Montana Professor. Vol. 15, no. 2. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
- ^ Hommerding, Leroy (2003-10-15). "A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America". Library Journal. 128 (17): 85. ISSN 0363-0277.
- ^ a b "A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America". Publishers Weekly. New York City. ISSN 0000-0019. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
- ^ Pipes, Daniel (2004-01-13). "[Michael Barkun on] Old Conspiracies, New Beliefs". The New York Sun. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
Further reading
- Daschke, Dereck (2006-12-01). "A Review of: "Michael Barkun. A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America.": University of California Press. 2003. xii+243 pages. $24.95 cloth". Terrorism and Political Violence. 18 (4): 608–609. doi:10.1080/09546550601000322. ISSN 0954-6553.
- Hiiemäe, Reet (2005). "A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America/From Angels to Aliens. Teenagers, the Media, and the Supernatural". Western Folklore. 64 (1/2): 121–123. ISSN 0043-373X.