Stigmatization of Conspiracy Theory since the 1950s

<p>Are conspiracy theories everywhere and is everyone a conspiracy theorist? This ground-breaking study challenges some of the widely shared assessments in the scholarship about a perceived mainstreaming of conspiracy theory. It claims that conspiracy theory underwent a significant shift in status in the mid-20th century and has since then become highly visible as an object of concern in public debates. </p><p>Providing an in-depth analysis of academic and media discourses, Katharina Thalmann is the first scholar to systematically trace the history and process of the delegitimization of conspiracy theory. By reading a wide range of conspiracist accounts about three central events in American history from the 1950s to 1970s – the Great Red Scare, the Kennedy assassination, and the Watergate scandal – Thalmann shows that a veritable conspiracist subculture emerged in the 1970s as conspiracy theories were pushed out of the legitimate marketplace of ideas and conspiracy theory became a commodity not unlike pornography: alluring in its illegitimacy, commonsensical, and highly profitable. </p><p>This will be of interest to scholars and researchers interested in American history, culture and subcultures, as well, of course, to those fascinated by conspiracies.</p> <p>Introduction, <b>Part I. Theories of Conspiracy Theory, </b>1. From Fears of Conspiracy to Fears of Conspiracy Theory: The Stigmatization of Conspiracy Theory in Academic Discourse, <b>Part II. Conspiracy Theory Culture, </b>2. Preceding Stigmatization: The Red Scare and Conspiracy Theories in the 1950s, 3. Reflecting Stigmatization: The Kennedy Assassination and Conspiracy Theories in the 1960s, 4. Embracing Stigmatization: Watergate and Conspiracy Theories in the 1970s, Conclusion: The State and Status of Conspiracy Theory in the Age of Trump(ism).</p>