Modern Conspiracy - by Chris Fleming & Emma A Jane (Paperback)

About the Book

"Modern Conspiracy attempts to sketch a new conception of conspiracy theory. Where many commentators have sought to characterize conspiracy theory in terms of the collapse of objectivity and Enlightenment reason, Fleming and Jane trace the important role of conspiracy in the formation of the modern world: the scientific revolution, social contract theory, political sovereignty, religious paranoia and mass communication media. Rather than see in conspiratorial thinking the imminent death of Enlightenment reason, and a regression to a new Dark Age, Modern Conspiracy contends that many characteristic features of conspiracies tap very deeply into the history of the Enlightenment itself: among other things, its vociferous critique of established authorities, and a conception of political sovereignty fuelled by fear of counter-plots. Drawing out the roots of modern conspiratorial thinking leads us to truths less salacious and scandalous than the claims of conspiracy theorists themselves yet ultimately far more salutary: about mass communication; about individual and crowd psychology; and about our conception of and relation to knowledge. Perhaps, ultimately, what conspiracy theory affords us is a renewed opportunity to reflect on our very relationship to the truth itself"--

Book Synopsis

While conspiracy theory is often characterized in terms of the collapse of objectivity and Enlightenment reason, Modern Conspiracy traces the important role of conspiracy in the formation of the modern world: the scientific revolution, social contract theory, political sovereignty, religious paranoia and mass communication media.

Rather than seeing the imminent death of Enlightenment reason and a regression to a new Dark Age in conspiratorial thinking, Modern Conspiracy suggests that many characteristic features of conspiracies tap very deeply into the history of the Enlightenment: its vociferous critique of established authorities and a conception of political sovereignty fuelled by fear of counter-plots, for example. Perhaps, ultimately, conspiracy theory affords us a renewed opportunity to reflect on our very relationship to the truth itself.

Review Quotes

"This opulently researched book is probably the only one you need to read on this topic. The authors prescribe humor, which they exercise tellingly throughout, as an antidote to the paranoia of conspiracy theorists and their symmetrically grim debunkers. " --Andrew McKenna, Professor of French Language and Literature, Loyola University Chicago, USA

"his intellectually challenging yet humor-filled treatment of "conspiracy theory" reveals the hidden complicity between the theorists and their debunkers--including us and the authors themselves. No solutions are offered, but we learn to see these theories as inevitable and not always regrettable products of the Enlightenment's Cartesian principle by which modern people try, against ever greater odds, to think for themselves." --Eric Gans, Distinguished Professor of French and Francophone Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

"A beautifully accessible and persuasive survey of the field of conspiracy-theorising and debunking. " --William A Johnsen, Professor of English, Michigan State University, USA, and editor of Studies in Violence, Mimesis, and Culture

"Conspiracy is a fleeting shape in the peripheral vision of modernity: not really there but coming to get you. What is it? A state of mind, form of speech, branch of reason, image of reality or just a sign of the times? Modern Conspiracy reveals it as 'epistemic ambience': the glue that binds truth to fiction, reason to madness, politics to fantasy, sex to revolution. Even the debunkers are in on it. Scholars, scientists, politicians, writers and citizens, take heed. Fleming and Jane know your secrets.... " --John Hartley, John Curtin Distinguished Professor and Professor of Cultural Science, Curtin University, Australia, and Professor of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University, UK

"Lucidly written, Modern Conspiracy is recommended reading not only for conspiracists and debunkers, but also those interested in a nuanced view of the modern nature of conspiracy and its critique." --Rachel Hoffman, Times Higher Education

About the Author

Emma A. Jane is Senior Lecturer in the School of the Arts and Media at the University of New South Wales, Australia.

Chris Fleming is Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Communication Arts at the University of Western Sydney, Australia.