Spring 2026
Epistemology of Conspiracy Theories
Dates: January 27, 2026 - May 19, 2026Day/Time: Tuesday; Thursday 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM EDT
Level: 200-Level
Certificate: Democracy*
Instructor: Bruce Matthews, Bard Early Colleges
Epistemology of Conspiracy Theories will introduce students to the interdisciplinary study of why we appear to be becoming more susceptible to believing in conspiracy theories and ‘fake news’ that reinforces our existing way of seeing the world. Students will examine works of literature and philosophy that have wrestled with the intersection of truth and narratives of power, engaging with Plato’s Noble Lie and George Orwell’s 1984, while also focusing on propaganda and the manufacturing of consent within our contemporary social media landscapes. Building on the insights of multiple schools of epistemology, students will engage and critique select conspiracy theories, as they learn to contextualize and understand the political and technological currents that shape the competing narratives of truth we confront in today’s world. Faced with the possibility of living in a ‘post-truth’ world, students need to be exposed to historical and political forces as well as master epistemological techniques to better establish and justify their understanding of reality in order to increase the effectiveness of their civic engagement. Coming to grips with the thousands of years old narratives of power shaping truth helps students situate current debates about conspiracy theory and disinformation within an historical context, while interrogating the epistemological theories of Descartes, Hume, Nietzsche and Baudrillard provides them with a set of tools to dismantle and test the conspiracy theories students select to investigate in teams, as they work towards their final panel discussions that apply the central question of epistemology to contemporary events, namely how do you know what you think you know is true?
Credits: 4 US / 8 ECTS