Conspiracy Planet

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Conspiracy Planet

Instructor: Matthew Lasar

3,222 already enrolled

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7 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

No prior experience required

1 week to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

7 modules

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.

Beginner level

No prior experience required

1 week to complete

at 10 hours a week

Flexible schedule

Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

Learners will be able to identify conspiracy theories.
Learners will be able to evaluate and critique conspiracy theories.
Learners will be able to create their own conspiracy theories.

Skills you'll gain

Details to know

Shareable certificate

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Assessments

7 assignments¹

AI Graded see disclaimer

Taught in English

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There are 7 modules in this course

This course is for anyone interested in conspiracy theories. Millions of people around the world believe in conspiracy theories like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, or that AIDS was deliberately created by governments and pharmaceutical companies, or that on September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center complex was downed not by airplanes, but by a “controlled demolition” masterminded by the United States national security state.

What are we to make of these claims? What do they say about our societies? How do they impact history, or reflect larger historical trends? How do we understand the context of these ideas? And how do we understand them in relation to objectively confirmed conspiracies, of which there are at least as many? How do we know when a conspiracy has really happened, and cannot simply be dismissed as a ‘theory’? We will grapple with these questions together through short videos, quizzes that will help you check your understanding of the material, discussion, and a final project in which you will create your own conspiracy theory.

This module is an introduction to the basics of conspiracy theory.

What's included

3 videos1 assignment

This module focuses on American historian Richard Hofstadter's book "The Paranoid Style in American Politics."

What's included

1 video1 assignment

This module covers the antisemitic conspiracy theories that grew from the fabricated text "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

What's included

3 videos1 assignment

This module focuses on conspiracy theories invented to explain Word War I.

What's included

4 videos1 assignment

This module covers some of the countless theories of the assassination of American President John F. Kennedy.

What's included

6 videos1 assignment

This module is an exploration of the relationship between grief and conspiracy theories.

What's included

5 videos1 assignment

This is it. This is the last module, in which you will create your own (original) conspiracy theory and evaluate the conspiracy theories of your fellow learners.

What's included

2 videos1 assignment1 peer review

Instructor

Matthew Lasar

University of California, Santa Cruz

1 Course3,222 learners

Offered by

University of California, Santa Cruz

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