Conspiracy Theories as Ethnosociologies

Explanation and Intention in African American Political Culture

Dados Bibliográficos

ID18973570
AutoresAnita M Waters (Denison University, autor correspondente)
Ano1997
Volume28
Fascículo1
Páginas112-125
Data de publicação1997-09-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Black Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0021-9347 • E-ISSN: 1552-4566
EditoraSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/002193479702800107
OpenAlexW2726537523
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas73
Referências citadas17

Attributing social maladies to deliberate plots by hostile conspirators is an American political tradition dating back to the 1760s, beginning with rumors of a British plan to remove colonists' rights and continuing through to the John F. Kennedy assassination theories. Most recently, conspiracy theories have been seen as prevalent in the African American community,' as general explanations for the spread of AIDS and crack cocaine and for the lack of occupational and educational opportunities for Blacks, as well as explanations for more specific events, such as the cover-up theory of the Tawana Brawley case or Leonard Jeffries' positing of a Hollywood conspiracy to promulgate denigrating images of Blacks. Although conspiracy theories are not unique to African Americans,2 conspiracy theories held by African Americans that seek to explain ethnic inequality are intrinsically interesting as a subset of conspiracy theories because they may indicate areas of tremendous uncertainty in interethnic relations. In addition, they may shape behavior by providing parameters for political and social action in racial conflicts. In short, conspiracy theories express deep-running ethnic tensions while they influence the directions of interethnic interaction. The rise of conspiracy theories has been met with dismay and alarm from some social commentators. Among the concerns is the

Criminology · Ethnic group · Hollywood · Political science · Politics · Racism · Sociology · Anthropology · Crime, Deviance, and Social Control · Gender Studies · History · Law · Race, History, and American Society