Back to Conspiracy Planet
University of California, Santa Cruz

Conspiracy Planet

This course is for anyone interested in conspiracy theories. Millions of people around the world believe in conspiracy theories like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, or that AIDS was deliberately created by governments and pharmaceutical companies, or that on September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center complex was downed not by airplanes, but by a “controlled demolition” masterminded by the United States national security state. What are we to make of these claims? What do they say about our societies? How do they impact history, or reflect larger historical trends? How do we understand the context of these ideas? And how do we understand them in relation to objectively confirmed conspiracies, of which there are at least as many? How do we know when a conspiracy has really happened, and cannot simply be dismissed as a ‘theory’? We will grapple with these questions together through short videos, quizzes that will help you check your understanding of the material, discussion, and a final project in which you will create your own conspiracy theory.

Status: Research
Status: Social Sciences
BeginnerCourse10 hours

Featured reviews

DM

5.0Reviewed Jan 15, 2025

Excellent course - put on your in hat and enjoy the course...

ER

5.0Reviewed Mar 22, 2023

very fun class And really helps to learn how to sort through ral news and made up news.

JG

4.0Reviewed Jan 21, 2023

Did much to clarify the national ambiguity caused by these heroic and tragic passages.

KB

4.0Reviewed Dec 17, 2022

Excellent content and presentation. Truly gifted professor. Would have given it 5 stars had he not been so liberal with his leftist views on the Palestinian issue

GH

5.0Reviewed Oct 21, 2023

very good thank you University of California, Santa Cruz and Matthew Lasar

RK

5.0Reviewed Apr 15, 2023

I loved this course. The professor is openminded and helps us explore the backgrounds that create conspiracies. I would take this again if I could!

All reviews

Showing: 19 of 19

Kathy Conner
5.0
Reviewed Jan 1, 2023
KIP BROWN
4.0
Reviewed Dec 17, 2022
EK Keratsis
5.0
Reviewed Mar 27, 2023
Maheen Ahmed
5.0
Reviewed May 1, 2024
Manisha Gosai
5.0
Reviewed Jan 29, 2025
Enrique Mac Cormack
5.0
Reviewed Jun 2, 2023
Robbi King
5.0
Reviewed Apr 16, 2023
ines pacciarz beresosky
5.0
Reviewed May 16, 2023
Erica Romska
5.0
Reviewed Mar 22, 2023
David McKiernan
5.0
Reviewed Jan 16, 2025
Mary Ellen
5.0
Reviewed Aug 29, 2022
Rudolf Nijder
5.0
Reviewed Jul 6, 2023
kayleigh pegram
5.0
Reviewed Mar 22, 2024
Jack McCabe
4.0
Reviewed Jul 28, 2023
Joseph Gretsch
4.0
Reviewed Jan 21, 2023
Elaine H
3.0
Reviewed Feb 10, 2022
Volodymyr Akimov
2.0
Reviewed Aug 6, 2024
Final Draft
1.0
Reviewed Dec 25, 2024