Civil Discourse Series: Conspiracy Theories: Past, Present, and Future

The Civil Discourse Series is presented by The Meadows Foundation.

Conspiracy theories have existed for thousands of years, but recently have become an increasingly pervasive part of society. Join the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum for a conversation addressing the critical issues around this phenomenon. How do conspiracy theories form and take hold, and who believes in them? Has there been growing support for conspiracy theories in recent years, or are they simply gaining more exposure in the age of social media and high speed communication? How do we combat the misinformation that lies at the root of conspiracy theories?

About the Panelists
Kathryn Olmsted is a professor of history at the University of California, Davis, and the author of four books: Right Out of California: The 1930s and the Big Business Roots of Modern Conservatism; Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11; Red Spy Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth Bentley; and Challenging the Secret Government: The Post-Watergate Investigations of the CIA and FBI. She studies U.S. political history in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, cnn.com, Le Monde, and other media outlets.

Joseph Uscinski is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami. He studies public opinion and mass media, with a focus on conspiracy theories and misinformation. He is coauthor of American Conspiracy Theories and editor of Conspiracy Theories and the People Who Believe Them.

Elise Wang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics at California State University, Fullerton. A medievalist by training, she works at the intersection of literature, history, and law to examine the rhetoric and function of conspiracy theories.

Please register for one ticket per device used. The conversation will take place on the online platform Zoom. A link to join will be sent to registered guests via e-mail one hour before the start of the program.