Kevin Cosby Humanities
The Secret Masters: Conspiracy Fiction in Modern Culture
The global and national turbulence of recent years has resulted in the increased popularity of conspiracy theory as an interpretive lens for world events – prompting both the shift of conspiracy theory from the fringe to the political mainstream and an explosion in conspiracy theory studies. Kevin is researching the connection between conspiracy theory as a social phenomenon and its analogue in literature and pop culture. He seeks to link conspiracy as a political practice with its cultural representation, to better understand the collective myth-making of paranoia. Kevin plans to explore how the treatment of conspiracy in fiction reflects or influences conspiracy theory’s social and political development. His project will analyze the feedback loop of popular culture and popular thought – from Pynchon to Pizzagate, from Mulder and Scully to Infowars.
