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Have an idea for Subject of the Month?
December 2016
Selectors: Richard Buboltz, Rachael Clark, and Karen Liston
conspiracy theory
NOUN
1. a theory that explains an event as being the result of a plot by a covert group or organization; a belief that a particular unexplained event was caused by such a group.
2. the idea that many important political events or economic and social trends are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.
conspiracy theory. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved November 30, 2016 from Dictionary.com website http://www.dictionary.com/browse/conspiracy-theory
Books in Print
Conspiracy by Call Number: D 21.3 .P55 1997 Purdy LibraryISBN: 0684831317Publication Date: 1997-10-11An analysis of conspiracy theories in the West and the impact that they have had. The text includes the tale of how the sales of a soft drink plummeted when rumours spread that it caused sterility in black men.
Conspiracy Theories by Call Number: HV 6275 .R35 2000 Purdy LibraryISBN: 1903047307Publication Date: 2001-03-01If you think the X-Files is fiction, you probably also think that Elvis is dead and believe the US actually went to the moon. It's all a conspiracy theory isn't it? This new guide gets right to the heart of the matter and presents a comprehensive collection of the current theories now doing the rounds. Some may be ripe for ridicule but others may be worth serious consideration and helping the reader sort out which is which is what this handy book is all about.
Conspiracy Theory Websites, December 2016
- WantToKnow.Info"WantToKnow.info relies on the great work of an informal network of respected researchers and concerned citizens from around the globe. Some of these people have written key books which are summarized on this website. Others have sent valuable information revealing major cover-ups. All are courageous citizens who venture where many dare not go. "
More Websites:
- The Skeptics Society"A nonprofit 501(c)(3) scientific and educational organization whose mission is to engage leading experts in investigating the paranormal, fringe science, pseudoscience, and extraordinary claims of all kinds, promote critical thinking, and serve as an educational tool for those seeking a sound scientific viewpoint."
- CONSPIRACY THEORIES Who Believes Them, and Why? How Can You Determine if They are True or False?"What is a conspiracy theory, why do people believe in them, and why do they tend to proliferate? Why does belief in one conspiracy correlate to belief in others? What are the triggers of belief, and how does group identity factor into it? How can one tell the difference between a true conspiracy and a false one? For the answers, download this free booklet, created by Michael Shermer and Pat Linse,by Michael Shermer and Pat Linse, the founders of Skeptic magazine and your Skeptics Society."
Image Gallery
Disclose.TV
"A fast growing multimedia and news hub dedicated to unusual and unexplained phenomena as well as alternative topics that may be ignored, denied or inandequatly covered within the mainstream media."
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FBI Vault
- FBI Vault - Jimmy HoffaEighteen documents on Jimmy Hoffa from the FBI in the public record.
Roswell, UFOs, & Aliens
- FBI Vault - UFO"In 1947, a rash of sightings of unexplained flying objects (UFOs) swept America. Although the newly formed U.S. Air Force was the primary investigator of these sightings, the FBI received many reports and worked for a time with the Air Force to investigate these matters. This release details the FBI’s role in investigating such reports between 1947 and 1954."
Videos, December 2016
The Power Elite and the Death of the Middle Class
Running Time: 38 mins; Year: 2012
"Packed with new insights on why and how the U.S. and other powers are being sacrificed on the altar of globalism and what this means for you."
Mirage Men - UFO Conspiracies
Running Time: 86 mins; Year: 2013
What if the UFO conspiracy was turned on its head? Instead the modern mythology of governments covering up UFO sightings, the military had been and still is actually encouraging it as part of their ancient cold war counterintelligence arsenal. Mirage Men draws viewers into a saucer-shaped hall of mirrors, a shadow-world where every lie contains elements of the truth, and the truth is far stranger than the UFO believers, or their detractors, would have you believe.
eBooks on Conspiracy Theories
A Culture of Conspiracy
- Call Number: WSU Access ID & Password Required
- ISBN: 9780520276826
- Publication Date: 2013-08-15
What do UFO believers, Christian millennialists, and right-wing conspiracy theorists have in common? According to Michael Barkun in this fascinating yet disturbing book, quite a lot. It is well known that some Americans are obsessed with conspiracies. The Kennedy assassination, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the 2001 terrorist attacks have all generated elaborate stories of hidden plots. What is far less known is the extent to which conspiracist worldviews have recently become linked in strange and unpredictable ways with other "fringe" notions such as a belief in UFOs, Nostradamus, and the Illuminati. Unraveling the extraordinary genealogies and permutations of these increasingly widespread ideas, Barkun shows how this web of urban legends has spread among subcultures on the Internet and through mass media, how a new style of conspiracy thinking has recently arisen, and how this phenomenon relates to larger changes in American culture.
Database, December 2016
- Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new windowOpposing Viewpoints in Context is the premier online resource covering today's hottest social issues, from Offshore Drilling to Climate Change, Health Care to Immigration. Opposing Viewpoints in Context helps students research, analyze and organize a broad variety of data for conducting research, completing writing assignments, preparing for debates, creating presentations and more.
Fact-Checking and Debunking
- Snopes.comThis website "has come to be regarded as an online touchstone of rumor research."
- How To Recognize A Fake News Story9 helpful tips to stop yourself from sharing false information.
- Hoax-Slayer"Debunks email and social media hoaxes, thwarts Internet scammers, combats spam, and educates web users about email, social media, and Internet security issues."
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn's Last Words by Call Number: PN 2287 .M69 S57 2004 Undergraduate LibraryISBN: 0786713801Publication Date: 2004-07-20Marilyn Monroe's death in August 1962, apparently a suicide, shocked the world. The coroner's report stated that her death was due to a massive overdose of Nembutal capsules. But what about the discrepancies between the official report and the eyewitness accounts and memories of the people who were there at the scene of her death--friends, her housekeeping staff, police officers, and doctors? And what about the forensic evidence that disappeared between the time of her death and the coroner's report being issued? Looking back at thousands of documents, many never before published, and interviewing dozens of sources, Smith argues strongly for a startling new version of events, as he paints a portrait of her day-to-day world toward the end of her life. The case he makes so convincingly is based not only on the documents and on complete forensic evidence, but also on the secret, confidential tapes Monroe made for her psychiatrist in the days leading up to her death--tapes that reveal a woman in charge of her life and her fate, a woman looking forward to a busy, bright future.
From the FBI Vault -- Documents Regarding Marilyn Monroe:
Assassination of JFK
Critical Thinking
- Can We Think Critically Anymore?Article by Derek Beres, Appeared on Big Think, September 13, 2016
Ideas for Teaching Critical Thinking Skills
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