---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Tom Wengraf <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, 28 Apr 2019 at 12:59
Subject: Re: Responding : CfP What do we do about conspiracy theories?
To: <[log in to unmask]>, <[log in to unmask]>, <
[log in to unmask]>
"The greatest achievement of the Devil is to persuade us that he doesn't
exist".
Now that more and more people are starting to sense how the governing
elites of the USA and its satellites and their intelligence services are
manipulating us through the mass media and otherwise, it becomes more and
more essential for those governing elites taking us towards intra-species
war and pan-speciest extinction to persuade us that they have no plan, that
they are not in contact with each other, that they would only tell us the
truth.
So the intelligence services have devised the misuse of the phrase
'conspiracy theory' to stop us from thinking that any such thing is going
on.
A 'theory' in social-science terms is just a theory to be confirmed or
refuted by data.Sometimes data suggests there was a conspiracy; sometimes
it suggests there were several conspiracies. Sometimes there were no
conspiracies.
'Conspiracy theory' currently used by the Western media, intelligentsia and
mind managers is a phrase asking you "not to look at the data". It asks you
to not consider the notion of 'undeclared and often denied secret planning
' (e.g. to capture oil states in the Middle East, Venezuela, wherever),
but, whenever the thought crosses your mind that politicians and business
leaders and media columnists in the Guardian or elsewhere might be
concealing some awkward truth, to 'instantly label it as a "conspiracy
theory" put about by the Enemy' and so NOT look at the facts.
On the other hand, though 'our side' never conspires and to think so is in
George Orwell's wonderful phrase a 'thoughtcrime', 'their side' of course
always does, and not to think so is a thoughtcrfime against our side!
The greatest achievement of the Devil is to persuade us that he does not
exist, and that he is not pumping out these messages!
Governing elites are always conspiring, always blundering, and always being
profoundly and deliberately ignorant about the longterm consequences of
what they are doing.
And they are always seeking out religious and political and practical
heretics, detecting thought-crimes of omission and commission, and are
determined not to be found out.
The greatest achievement of the Devil is to persuade us that he does not
exist, and that he is not pumping out these messages!
Can Maynooth be an exception?
On Sat, Apr 27, 2019, 10:23 PM Bruce E. Woych <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> It so happens that this topic is in a current discussion as it is being
> raised among professional journalists. Presented by theJustice Integrity
> Project, and titled Experts Address 'Fake News,' Fairness, Access,
> Economic Issues, by Andrew Kreig, April 26, 2019.
> https://www.justice-integrity.org/1644-experts-address-fake-news-fairness-access-economic-issues.It
> is worth a serious review. But if wea re to place "conspiracy theory" on
> disciplinary trial, perhaps it is critical to note that the purposeful use
> of the term "theory" is one of reduction. It is menant to convey absolute
> uncertainty rather than methodolgical rigor. Ultimately the phrase
> "conspiracy theory" is a false category. It is riddled with deception,
> misdirection, misinformation, disinformation and the dismissal of serious
> inquiries by a deliberate fallacy of composition intended from its own
> inception. As a subject of fictive construct it is best characterized as
> false consciousness hiding criminal conspiracty as a major classification
> of corruption, fraud and the abuse of power. It is often used as a quick
> dismissal by mainstream media, and has become a cottage industry for market
> fanaticism and quick mass market infamy and profiteering. It's use had a
> foundation in dismissing suspicions in political assassination; most
> notably that of J.F.K. by Dulles, the CIA and the Warren
> Commission. The uncritical use and abuse by mainstream media since that
> time has become as much about discrediting and deligitimizing for quick
> dismissal, as it has indicated fantastic and popular delusions of the
> crowd. Unsubstantiated dismisssal has become as common a currency as
> undocumented these false narratives, and tend to cloud out any
> authentic theory building or fact finding in wholesale
> potentially factionalized fashion as well. Afterall, the fear of being
> called a conspiracy theorist is part of the patterned suppression of such
> investigative work. Today, more than ever, serious insight is needed in
> this season of false political narratives, popular distrust, populous
> dissent, along with abuses of centralized market information
> monopolies, false news, misinformation and campign rhetorical deceptions of
> outright lies as a daily progressive realtiy . Serious study of mass
> manipulation, social media fallacies, information 'rapture', weaponized
> information capture and the definitive historic use and abuse of the use of
> this phrase for political propaganda is of primary import to isolate and
> define where authentic conspiracies are actually at play. Corruption is
> rarely lacking a conspiracy component. The question I raise, therfore, is
> whether by utilizing the phrase that categorically ridicules such inquiry,
> becomes even more successful at the long term association of discredited
> fanaticism than it clarifies, Valisdating a false construct only adds more
> smoke to the actual fire.Bruce E. WoychKingston, NYUSA -----Original
> Message-----
> From: Ela Drazkiewicz <[log in to unmask]>
> To: ANTHROPOLOGY-MATTERS <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Fri, Apr 26, 2019 11:17 am
> Subject: CfP What do we do about conspiracy theories?
>
>
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
> I hope you will find this CFP interesting. It is an interdisciplinary
> initiative but we think it might be of special interest for
> anthropologists.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Ela Drążkiewicz
>
>
>
> *CfP Special Issue and Research Workshop: *
>
>
>
> *What do we do about conspiracy theories?*
>
> *The role of social sciences and humanities in debunking conspiracy
> theories*
>
>
>
> Conspiracy theories have moved from the margins of public discourse towards
> the centers. Many people now use them to make sense of the changing world
> and its complexifying social structures (e.g. international financial
> systems, global bodies of governance), tragic events (e.g. terrorist
> attacks, man-made catastrophes, or natural disasters) or socio-political
> and economic issues (e.g. security, migration, resources distribution,
> health care). Importantly, this trend is visible across societies and
> cultures, transgressing traditional social divisions and classes.
> Representatives of political and social elites subscribe to some sort of
> conspiracy theory also deploy ‘alternative facts’ to their own political
> ends. In spite of earlier assertions that conspiratorial thinking is simply
> a symptom of paranoia, it becomes more and more clear that this assumption
> is hard to maintain: everybody can potentially engage with conspiracy
> theories in some way.
>
>
>
> This widespread popularity of conspiracy theories has spurred much interest
> from the academic community. The debate has focused predominantly on
> analyzing this phenomenon and understanding how the distrust in officially
> sanctioned knowledge can be explained? At the same time there seems to be
> an assumed expectation that it is the responsibility of researchers to
> engage with conspiracy beliefs by debunking them. However, like everything
> that relates to conspiracy theories, even the subject of debunking is not
> straightforward. An answer to the question whether researchers should
> debunk conspiracy theories varies across disciplines and schools, and is
> closely related to specific ethical codes of conduct, research
> methodologies, and specific approaches to conspiracy theories. While
> scholars who study this cultural phenomenon from a non-normative and
> epistemologically neutral position might wish to refrain from debunking
> conspiracy theories, others who see conspiracy theories as the irrational,
> overly suspicious and even dangerous ideas of people who don’t quite
> understand what is “really” going on, might lean towards the debunking
> stand. Clearly, the question of how we, as scholars, should approach
> conspiracy theories appears a divisive element in the burgeoning field of
> conspiracy theory studies. That is why, with this special issue we want to
> open up the discussion *whether it is the responsibility of scholars to
> debunk conspiracy theories? *
>
>
>
> Since (some of) these theories have real world consequences (growing
> distrust of mainstream media and politics, increasing societal polarization
> and hatred towards certain groups, decreasing trust in medicine and
> science), this is not a mere academic discussion. Indeed, the question of
> what to do with conspiracy theories, and how to engage with people who
> propagate them takes on much societal urgency. Can and should we, as
> scholars, stay “neutral” in these discussions, or do we have a
> responsibility to debunk conspiracy theories and to help diminish their
> popularity?
>
>
>
> For this special issue, we invite scholars representing the variety of
> disciplines who have been working on conspiracy theories to share their
> perspective and experiences on this issue. How should we deal with
> conspiracy theories while conducting research, in our analysis, writing and
> teaching, but also in our public outreach initiatives? We aim to hear
> multiple perspectives from different disciplines and geographical locations
> in order to learn from each other and to start a productive substantial
> discussion on this highly contested topic. We welcome both theoretical
> pieces and more empirically grounded essays, but we invite authors to
> specifically consider following questions:
>
>
>
> - How is your approach to debunking shaped by your discipline?
>
> - Does the topic of the conspiracy theory (e.g. 9/11, Big Pharma,
> aliens, flat earth etc.) that you are working on matter for the position
> you take?
>
> - Does the (political, economic, social, historical, cultural)
> context in which conspiracy theories operate matter?
>
> - If you argue that conspiracy theories should be debunked, how is
> this best done, and how should we deal with the people adhering to
> conspiracy theories?
>
> - If you have a different stand, what strategies can you propose for
> engaging with conspiratorial thinking?
>
>
>
> We intend to have this special issue published in the multidisciplinary
> Science, Technology and Human Values journal (
>
> https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/journal/science-technology-human-values#description
> )
> who have already expressed interest in our proposal for the special issue,
> but can only guarantee when prospected contributions are out.
>
>
>
> In order to facilitate the publication process and foster debate we
> organize a workshop which will bring contributors together to discuss and
> get feedback on their work. The workshop will take place at *Maynooth
> University, Ireland on June 28, 2019.* However, if you'd like to contribute
> in writing without coming to the workshop, that is possible too. We invite
> ALL interested people to submit a contribution (essay/empirical article)
> before the workshop. We will give authors opportunity to improve their work
> until July 14, after which we will do an internal review. The 8-10 best
> contributions will go into peer review through ST&HV, who gave us space for
> 6-8 contributions depending on size. Participation in the workshop is thus
> NO guarantee to be published or even to go into peer-review.
>
>
>
> Please submit the title of your paper together with an abstract by the 5th
> of May to Ela and Jaron, the organizers of this special issue:
> [log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask]
>
> Please also include information about whether you are available to attend
> the workshop.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *The funding for this workshop has been kindly provided **by the Department
> of Anthropology, the Department of **Sociology, the Office of the Dean of
> Social Sciences, **Research Support Office as well as Social Sciences
> **Institute
> of Maynooth University*
> [image: image.png]
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> Elżbieta Drążkiewicz, PhD
> Lecturer
> Anthropology Department
> Maynooth University, Ireland
>
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