Four Week Class Taught Online Via Zoom
Sundays October 25, November 8, 22, December 6, 2026 (note: alternating weeks)
8:00 - 9:30pm ET (NYC Time)
$150 Paid Patreon Members / $175 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time
Conspiratorial thinking and stigmatized forms of knowledge echo religious and occult traditions in the modern world. While often controversial—and sometimes tied to real-world violence—these belief systems can also be seen as tools for creating meaning, offering believers clear narratives in an increasingly complex world. Conspiracy theories might appeal to certain individuals because they offer simple, all-encompassing explanations that cut through complexity and uncertainty.
This course draws on scholars of esoteric and stigmatized knowledge to explore how speculative beliefs serve as alternative ways of understanding the world. We'll examine several major conspiracy theories, especially QAnon, and consider the ways in which they function like religion. Rather than debunking these theories, we will examine them seriously as a sociological phenomenon, asking: How does taking the speculative seriously deepen our empathy for others? Where's the line between delusion and healthy skepticism? And how do conspiratorial beliefs help communities make sense of an uncertain world?
Robert Spinelli is the archivist for Special Collections at Middle Tennessee State University. Prior to his role there, he worked in the non-profit museum sector and was the former Special Collections Librarian at Fisk University. In addition to his work in academic libraries, Mr. Spinelli is an active researcher in the fields of misinformation and death studies. His first book, The Lizard People Don’t Want You to Read This: Essays on Conspiracy Theories in Popular Culture, was published by McFarland Publishers in Fall 2025, with his second, Death, Commemoration & Cultural Meaning: Past & Present, in December of 2025. Mr. Spinelli’s third collection, Libraries, Archives & Collective Grief, was published by Bristol University Press in 2026. Currently under contract with BAR Publishing is a fourth volume entitled Pseudoarchaeology and Conspiracy Theories in Contemporary Context as well as other works on dark tourism, hauntology and death/grief bots.
Images:
Four Week Class Taught Online Via Zoom
Sundays October 25, November 8, 22, December 6, 2026 (note: alternating weeks)
8:00 - 9:30pm ET (NYC Time)
$150 Paid Patreon Members / $175 General Admission
PLEASE NOTE: Classes will be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time
Conspiratorial thinking and stigmatized forms of knowledge echo religious and occult traditions in the modern world. While often controversial—and sometimes tied to real-world violence—these belief systems can also be seen as tools for creating meaning, offering believers clear narratives in an increasingly complex world. Conspiracy theories might appeal to certain individuals because they offer simple, all-encompassing explanations that cut through complexity and uncertainty.
This course draws on scholars of esoteric and stigmatized knowledge to explore how speculative beliefs serve as alternative ways of understanding the world. We'll examine several major conspiracy theories, especially QAnon, and consider the ways in which they function like religion. Rather than debunking these theories, we will examine them seriously as a sociological phenomenon, asking: How does taking the speculative seriously deepen our empathy for others? Where's the line between delusion and healthy skepticism? And how do conspiratorial beliefs help communities make sense of an uncertain world?
Robert Spinelli is the archivist for Special Collections at Middle Tennessee State University. Prior to his role there, he worked in the non-profit museum sector and was the former Special Collections Librarian at Fisk University. In addition to his work in academic libraries, Mr. Spinelli is an active researcher in the fields of misinformation and death studies. His first book, The Lizard People Don’t Want You to Read This: Essays on Conspiracy Theories in Popular Culture, was published by McFarland Publishers in Fall 2025, with his second, Death, Commemoration & Cultural Meaning: Past & Present, in December of 2025. Mr. Spinelli’s third collection, Libraries, Archives & Collective Grief, was published by Bristol University Press in 2026. Currently under contract with BAR Publishing is a fourth volume entitled Pseudoarchaeology and Conspiracy Theories in Contemporary Context as well as other works on dark tourism, hauntology and death/grief bots.
Images:
