Course Introduction (Abbreviated Syllabus)
This first post is an abbreviated form of my syllabus. I have omitted some of the general school policies, assignment requirements, and classroom information.
Subject Matter: Conspiracy theories were once the sole domain of crack pots. If someone claimed that they didn't believe in the Moon Landing, that "chem trails" were causing autism (or whatever), or that a secret group of individuals were in control of every world event; we'd nod politely and then excuse ourselves. Now however conspiracism (the belief in conspiracy theories) is now mainstream. The president of the United States became politically active endorsing the "Birther" argument, has given his approval to Alex Jones' Infowars.com, and has publicly communicated theories about the bugging of the White House by the previous administration. For some reason the "Flat Earth" theory is now popular among NBA players and some rappers, who have to assert that NASA, for one, is propagating the "round Earth" lie. Medically, we have people like Jenny McCarthy, telling people not to vaccinate their children and Dr. Oz selling what we would call "snake oil" to millions of viewers.
When the first section of this course was taught, it was done as a quirky topic in order to teach persuasive writing. The course concentrates on teaching skeptical reasoning, using philosophical tools such as how to formulate an argument, evaluation of evidence, and reasoned conclusions from evidence. By using these we can easily take apart conspiracy theories to show the flaws and outright falsity of them.
Text Book: Little Seagull Handbook 2nd edition (or 1st, it doesn't matter). A solid writing/style guide important for academic use. Any assigned readings are provided on Canvas.
Recommended Reading: Given that this course is going to cover topics that no other class would touch, and rightfully so, the following reflects a list of media that will allow you to further augment reasoning and skeptical abilities.
Books:
Among the Truthers; Kay, Johnathan
Voodoo Histories; Aaronovitch, David
A Demon Haunted World; Sagan, Carl
Denying Science; Grant, John
Bad Medicine; Goldacre, Ben
An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations; Smith, Adam (Book I)
The Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livy; Machiavelli, Niccolo (Book III Ch. 6)
Podcasts:
Skeptics with a K (out of England from the Merseyside Skeptics Society)
Skeptics Guide to the Universe
Point of Inquiry (from the Center for Inquiry)
Websites:
Science Based Medicine: a website run by medical doctors that take an evidence based approach to medicine.
Quack Watch: A look at medical fraud, lies and pseudoscience.
Politifact: News and political fact checking. Popular conspiracy news appears as well. Winner of the Pulitzer prize, denounced as "fake news" by some who then fail to follow up with what the lies/mistakes were.
Snopes: One of the first websites devoted to debunking urban legends and general false information around the web.
Extremely Tentative Course Schedule
Introduction: Expectations, etc. In which we define what a conspiracy theory is. Reading: On Bullshit, Frankfort.
Science and Skepticism: The tools of skeptical thinking, the nature of how belief shapes worldview. Who believes in conspiracy theories and why (maybe). A basic introduction into falsification and verification is introduced. Falsifiability and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes Lakatos pg. 177-182; Science v. Conspiracy Bessi et. al.; Conspiracy Endorsement as Motivated Reasoning Miller et. al.
History! or whatever...: What an actual historical conspiracy looks like. Examples through history and how they succeed or fail, i.e. The Pazzi Conspiracy, The Gunpowder Plot, Watergate. Reading: "On the Viability of Conspiratorial Beliefs Grimes; "Of Conspiracies" Machiavelli
Informal Fallacies: The lifeblood of conspiracy theories. This is one of the longest sections of our course, essentially this is an abbreviated informal logic lecture. Reading: "Baloney Detector" Sagan, Carl (c.f. A Demon Haunted World)
They: Ever wonder what exactly the "Deep State" is? Probably not, but this is what is meant by the phrase. We talk about the usual suspects: The Illuminati, Freemasons, Bilderbergers, Tri-Lateral Commission, Knights Templar, and Bohemian Grove. Readings: : Malevolent Global Conspiracy—Basham; Some Unsuspecting Author--Beringer
Moral Panics: "This new generation is ruining society"--every generation ever. We talk about various moral panics throughout the years covering video games, music, comic books, etc; and why parents complaining about fidget spinners are just playing an old song with new lyrics. Also discussed is the "Satanic Panic" of the 80s and 90s showing what a real witch hunt looks like. Readings: "FBI Report on Ritual Abuse;" Lanning, Kenneth
Pseudo-Science 1 Complimentary and Alternative Medicine: if it worked, it wouldn't be called "complimentary" and "alternative" it would be called "medicine." This section we discuss the role of science in medicine, how to conduct trials, and then why health claims from homeopathy, chiropractic, and organic food are mistaken at best, fraudulent at worst. Readings: Ch. 1-3 Testing Treatments Evans et. al; A Closer Look at Therapeutic Touch; Rosa, Emily
The Next few lectures vary depending on what course section you are in.
Pseudo-Archaeology: Did aliens build the pyramids or Stonehenge? No, but that doesn't stop people from literally making millions off those claims. Why it's important that people who want to take on certain subjects become educated in their fields.
Pseudo-Science II: Free energy. Breaking the laws of thermodynamics in order get energy from water or the very fabric of space itself. How Pakistan poured millions into a water powered car without ever realizing it's impossible.
Anti-Stratsford: Think Shakespeare was a fraud? Or was there never a William Shakespeare to begin with? A surprisingly persistent theory that roped in some of the most famous literary figures in history (Mark Twain, and Sigmund Freud to name two).
9/11: History of the 'truth" movement, and how it all started with a guy trying to make a fictional movie. Bonus subject: the Titanic makes a strange appearance.
Upsetting English Majors: Dan Brown and the Da Vinci Code. Did Jesus have kids, he claims that, but also his book is fiction. We discuss the theory he based it on, and why it's a compete garbled mess.
Moon Landing: History of the Space Race, the role of Nazis, and why it's pretty conclusive that we did land on the Moon.
Death of a President: The assassination of JFK, why Oliver Stone's movie is surprisingly offensive (but extremely well made), and how Oswald's rifle performance isn't that remarkable (for him anyway).
The Stolen Election: The election of 2000 and how claims that Bush/Cheney stole it from Gore/??? do not add up. An odd election? Yes, a fraudulent one? No.
Subject Matter: Conspiracy theories were once the sole domain of crack pots. If someone claimed that they didn't believe in the Moon Landing, that "chem trails" were causing autism (or whatever), or that a secret group of individuals were in control of every world event; we'd nod politely and then excuse ourselves. Now however conspiracism (the belief in conspiracy theories) is now mainstream. The president of the United States became politically active endorsing the "Birther" argument, has given his approval to Alex Jones' Infowars.com, and has publicly communicated theories about the bugging of the White House by the previous administration. For some reason the "Flat Earth" theory is now popular among NBA players and some rappers, who have to assert that NASA, for one, is propagating the "round Earth" lie. Medically, we have people like Jenny McCarthy, telling people not to vaccinate their children and Dr. Oz selling what we would call "snake oil" to millions of viewers.
When the first section of this course was taught, it was done as a quirky topic in order to teach persuasive writing. The course concentrates on teaching skeptical reasoning, using philosophical tools such as how to formulate an argument, evaluation of evidence, and reasoned conclusions from evidence. By using these we can easily take apart conspiracy theories to show the flaws and outright falsity of them.
Text Book: Little Seagull Handbook 2nd edition (or 1st, it doesn't matter). A solid writing/style guide important for academic use. Any assigned readings are provided on Canvas.
Recommended Reading: Given that this course is going to cover topics that no other class would touch, and rightfully so, the following reflects a list of media that will allow you to further augment reasoning and skeptical abilities.
Books:
Among the Truthers; Kay, Johnathan
Voodoo Histories; Aaronovitch, David
A Demon Haunted World; Sagan, Carl
Denying Science; Grant, John
Bad Medicine; Goldacre, Ben
An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations; Smith, Adam (Book I)
The Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livy; Machiavelli, Niccolo (Book III Ch. 6)
Podcasts:
Skeptics with a K (out of England from the Merseyside Skeptics Society)
Skeptics Guide to the Universe
Point of Inquiry (from the Center for Inquiry)
Websites:
Science Based Medicine: a website run by medical doctors that take an evidence based approach to medicine.
Quack Watch: A look at medical fraud, lies and pseudoscience.
Politifact: News and political fact checking. Popular conspiracy news appears as well. Winner of the Pulitzer prize, denounced as "fake news" by some who then fail to follow up with what the lies/mistakes were.
Snopes: One of the first websites devoted to debunking urban legends and general false information around the web.
Extremely Tentative Course Schedule
Introduction: Expectations, etc. In which we define what a conspiracy theory is. Reading: On Bullshit, Frankfort.
Science and Skepticism: The tools of skeptical thinking, the nature of how belief shapes worldview. Who believes in conspiracy theories and why (maybe). A basic introduction into falsification and verification is introduced. Falsifiability and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes Lakatos pg. 177-182; Science v. Conspiracy Bessi et. al.; Conspiracy Endorsement as Motivated Reasoning Miller et. al.
History! or whatever...: What an actual historical conspiracy looks like. Examples through history and how they succeed or fail, i.e. The Pazzi Conspiracy, The Gunpowder Plot, Watergate. Reading: "On the Viability of Conspiratorial Beliefs Grimes; "Of Conspiracies" Machiavelli
Informal Fallacies: The lifeblood of conspiracy theories. This is one of the longest sections of our course, essentially this is an abbreviated informal logic lecture. Reading: "Baloney Detector" Sagan, Carl (c.f. A Demon Haunted World)
They: Ever wonder what exactly the "Deep State" is? Probably not, but this is what is meant by the phrase. We talk about the usual suspects: The Illuminati, Freemasons, Bilderbergers, Tri-Lateral Commission, Knights Templar, and Bohemian Grove. Readings: : Malevolent Global Conspiracy—Basham; Some Unsuspecting Author--Beringer
Moral Panics: "This new generation is ruining society"--every generation ever. We talk about various moral panics throughout the years covering video games, music, comic books, etc; and why parents complaining about fidget spinners are just playing an old song with new lyrics. Also discussed is the "Satanic Panic" of the 80s and 90s showing what a real witch hunt looks like. Readings: "FBI Report on Ritual Abuse;" Lanning, Kenneth
Pseudo-Science 1 Complimentary and Alternative Medicine: if it worked, it wouldn't be called "complimentary" and "alternative" it would be called "medicine." This section we discuss the role of science in medicine, how to conduct trials, and then why health claims from homeopathy, chiropractic, and organic food are mistaken at best, fraudulent at worst. Readings: Ch. 1-3 Testing Treatments Evans et. al; A Closer Look at Therapeutic Touch; Rosa, Emily
The Next few lectures vary depending on what course section you are in.
Pseudo-Archaeology: Did aliens build the pyramids or Stonehenge? No, but that doesn't stop people from literally making millions off those claims. Why it's important that people who want to take on certain subjects become educated in their fields.
Pseudo-Science II: Free energy. Breaking the laws of thermodynamics in order get energy from water or the very fabric of space itself. How Pakistan poured millions into a water powered car without ever realizing it's impossible.
Anti-Stratsford: Think Shakespeare was a fraud? Or was there never a William Shakespeare to begin with? A surprisingly persistent theory that roped in some of the most famous literary figures in history (Mark Twain, and Sigmund Freud to name two).
9/11: History of the 'truth" movement, and how it all started with a guy trying to make a fictional movie. Bonus subject: the Titanic makes a strange appearance.
Upsetting English Majors: Dan Brown and the Da Vinci Code. Did Jesus have kids, he claims that, but also his book is fiction. We discuss the theory he based it on, and why it's a compete garbled mess.
Moon Landing: History of the Space Race, the role of Nazis, and why it's pretty conclusive that we did land on the Moon.
Death of a President: The assassination of JFK, why Oliver Stone's movie is surprisingly offensive (but extremely well made), and how Oswald's rifle performance isn't that remarkable (for him anyway).
The Stolen Election: The election of 2000 and how claims that Bush/Cheney stole it from Gore/??? do not add up. An odd election? Yes, a fraudulent one? No.
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