Conspiracy theories represent symbols of enlightened skepticism, not paranoia, according to one U professor.
History Professor Robert Goldberg is considered an expert on conspiracy theories. He studies, teaches, writes and speaks about suspected government cover ups.
“Our society is obsessed with them,” he said.
Goldberg spoke at the Hinckley Institute of Politics Thursday. He spoke to a handful of U students and members of the community in an address titled after his latest book, “Enemies Within: The Culture of Conspiracy in Modern America.”
The deaths of Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther King Jr., John Fitzgerald Kennedy and hundreds of prisoners of war in Vietnam remain clouded by a mystical skepticism similar to urban legends and fairy tales, Goldberg said. Words like Roswell and Area 51 carry the same power.
As a history professor, Goldberg is fascinated by the “thread of conspiracy in the American tapestry” starting before the American Revolution.
Goldberg discussed a 1997 movie starring Mel Gibson called “Conspiracy Theory.” In the movie, Gibson plays a paranoid, insane conspiracy theorist who has multiple locks on his door and mumbles to himself. But by the end of the movie, Gibson’s character unravels the details of a government cover-up.
Goldberg mocked Hollywood’s characterization of conspiracy theorists. “Because it is Mel,” he said, “we know to withhold our judgements.”
However, many people consider conspiracy theorists lunatics
“They are not crazy. They are smart business people and they are supported by many people who buy their books and ideas,” he said.
He prefers to call them “conspiracy entrepreneurs.”
Goldberg himself doesn’t believe most of the theories, however, he said after all of his research the Kennedy assassination remains a mystery to him.
Goldberg has taught at the U since 1980. This semester he is teaching an Honors Program course on conspiracy thinking, and a graduate course in American history.