Paranoia within Reason – A Casebook on Conspiracy as Explanation: 6 (Late Editions: Cultural Studies for the End of the Century) - Hardcover

Marcus, Ge

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226504573 ISBN 13: 9780226504575

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1999

Synopsis

Like the McCarthy era of the 1950s, there is a strong current of paranoid social thought at the end of the 20th century. Conspiracy theories abound, not only in extremist ideologies and groups, but in commerce, science, and economics-arenas where a paranoid style is least expected. A curiosity about paranoia at its most reasonable is at the root of this volume. Some pieces develop conversations that reveal the post-Cold War situations of countries such as Italy, Russia, Slovenia, and the United States where conspiratorial explanations of national dramas seem to make sense. Other pieces tackle paranoia as a style of debate in such diverse realms as science, psychotherapy, and popular entertainment, where conspiracy theories emerge as a compelling way to address the inadequacies of rational expertise and organization in the face of immense changes that undermine them.

About this title

About the Author

George E. Marcus is professor of political science at Williams College and the author, coauthor, or coeditor of seven books, including, most recently, Political Psychology: Neuroscience, Genetics, and Politics.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226504573
• ISBN 13: 9780226504575
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 454