RLG 104H1F: Conspiracies, Social Media, and the Rise of New Religious Movements
A first-year course in the Department for the Study of Religion
Welcome to RLG 104. This website is a brief, open-access overview of the course. You will have access to the basic information you will need to start the course. Check out the full course website on Quercus for more details (there is a link below).
In this course, we examine the intersection of the three named elements in our title: conspiracies (mostly conspiracy theories and theorists), social media (in particular, TikTok and Instagram), and what we in the academy call "new religious movements" or NRMs, which are commonly called "cults." Our aim is to explore the tangled nature of these terms in 2022, while also looking at each in its historical development. Thus, we will spend time looking at each element as a cultural and historical phenomenon before turning to a few case studies that draw them all together: conspirituality, QAnon, anti-vaxxers, ecofascists, and (other) white supremacists.
Please take 10 minutes to watch this video which gives you a sense of what we are going to do in the course. In the video, I offer an overview of our approach to the subject and an invitation to learn from you!
Introduction Video
Please check out the content below for more information
Week One
For our first class, we gather to discuss the overall goals and plans for the class. You also have one reading to prepare before class. Click on the image to go to our brief Week 1 page for readings and other materials.
Week Two
This week, we will begin looking more closely at how conspiracies and conspiracy theories are defined. Click on the image to go to our brief Week 2 page for readings and other materials.
Assessments
Click on the image for a quick introduction to the assessment for the course
Lecture Topics
Click on the image for a list of the topics we will explore in class.