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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973
EAN num: 9780816632435
ISBN number: 081663243X
Label: University of Minnesota Press
Manufacturer: University of Minnesota Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 282
Printing Date: 2001-04
Publishing house: University of Minnesota Press
Sale Popularity Level: 859227
Studio: University of Minnesota Press
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Product Description:
JFK, Karl Marx, the Pope, Aristotle Onassis, Queen Elizabeth II, Howard Hughes, Fox Mulder, Bill Clinton-all have been linked to vastly complicated global (or even galactic) intrigues. In this enlightening tour of conspiracy theories, Mark Fenster guides readers through this shadowy world and analyzes its complex role in American culture and politics.
Fenster argues that conspiracy theories are a form of popular political interpretation and contends that understanding how they circulate through mass culture helps us better understand our society as a whole. To that end, he discusses Richard Hofstadter's The Paranoid Style in American Politics, the militia movement, The X-Files, popular Christian apocalyptic thought, and such artifacts of suspicion as The Turner Diaries, the Illuminatus! trilogy, and the novels of Richard Condon.
Fenster analyzes the 'conspiracy community' of radio shows, magazine and book publishers, Internet resources, and role-playing games that promote these theories. In this world, the very denial of a conspiracy's existence becomes proof that it exists, and the truth is always 'out there.' He believes conspiracy theory has become a thrill for a bored subculture, one characterized by its members' reinterpretation of 'accepted' history, their deep cynicism about contemporary politics, and their longing for a utopian future.
Fenster's progressive critique of conspiracy theories both recognizes the secrecy and inequities of power in contemporary politics and economics and works toward effective political engagement. Probing conspiracy theory's tendencies toward scapegoating, racism, and fascism, as well as Hofstadter's centrist acceptance of a postwar American 'consensus,' he advocates what conspiracy theory wants but cannot articulate: a more inclusive, engaging political culture.
Mark Fenster received his Ph.D. in communication from the University of Illinois and his law degree from Yale University. He currently lives in Denver.
Excerpt:
'Ultimately, I want to propose that the Utopian 'plot' to be uncovered is not composed of the exclusivity and secrets of conspiracy, but of the open-ended political struggle for equality, solidarity, and a transparent, participatory democracy that conspiracy theory might assume but can hardly imagine and cannot attain.'
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
I got this book with several other similar books, doing some research for one of my clients. For me, it's the best overview of conspiracy theories and why they're so compelling to people. The psychological question of why these stories are so meaningful to some people is the most interesting question.
Rated by buyers -
This book covers most of the conspiracy theories popular in the United States. It is a good contributing text to political science courses, and a great volume for those who wish answers about their government's activities. Don't look for answers in this book; it is a book that evokes questions only the reader can answer.
Rated by buyers -
This book challenges and takes the reader to the subsequent level by asking WHY! Why do conspiracy theories exist in American society and culture?
The answers are set in an eloquent academic prose but does tend to "quote" "incessantly" in a "few" chapters which becomes "really" really "annoying." However the author delivers an expectant high level of proficiency in subsequent chapters.
Buy this book if (1) you appreciate academic prose, (2) are fascinated in the WHY theories behind conspiracy in American culture and society and (3) this is your very first peek into the genre.
Rated by buyers 
-
I read a lot, and more than a few books by academics. But even though I was keenly interested in the subject of this book, and what Fenster would have to say about it, I found the reading so utterly dry and boring that I couldn't get even a third of the way through the book. I put it down and came back to it several times, trying to bring a freshness to it. But each time I was drugged to catatonia within a few pages. I gave up trying to read it straight through, and tried skimming and jumping around to get some key points. It didn't help. The author appears more intent on scholarly notes and quotes and references, than on making a clear and readable narrative. Unless you are an academic doing research, or a lay reader with an iron stomach for this kind of material, I would find another book.
Rated by buyers -
I recall a quote from Robert Anton Wilson who said, "Anyone in the United States who isn't paranoid must be crazy." I always thought that was an amusing quote, and it should've shown up in this book, probably! Fenster explores the prevalence of conspiracy theory in American culture in this very academic book. While his writing style is good, I warn you that this book seems aimed at academics, and not your garden-variety conspiracy buffs.
He begins with exploring Richard Hofstadter's work on the paranoid style of American politics, and leaps into studying the militia movement, later focusing on JFK, the X-Files, and other forms of "conspiracy as entertainment" and also examines millennial Christian groups and apocalyptic predictions, etc. Fenster is rigorous in his exploration of conspiracy theories-as he explains in the beginning, he is not detailing the theories so much as examining what they represent, both culturally and individually. In this, he does an excellent job, particularly regarding the militias.
He seeks to get past the old notion of conspiracy theory as pathology to seeing it as a legitimate, if extreme and disempowering expression of popular dissatisfaction with the status quo. This is an important observation: that conspiracy theory, by embracing the idea of all-powerful individual villainy (a secret group behind it all), instead of structural problems (capitalism, American democracy) people can actually affect and change, conspiracy theory saps the strength from people by making them paranoid bystanders to their own lives. But he's clear to point out how the structure of the American political system creates this line of thought, albeit unintentionally-the majority of Americans are marginalized in this society. The tonic for this would seem to be action, rather than taking refuge in conspiracy theory.
Overall, this book is worth your time, but don't read it as a titillating account of conspiracies or you will be disappointed. If you're curious about what makes these things tick, then this book is for you.
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