M. Haffemayer, Plots, Conspiracy Theories and political culture in Early Modern history

Plots and conspiracies, real or imagined, punctuate the early modern history of Europe ; for all social groups, conspiracy theory offered a seemingly rational explanation for unforeseen, unwanted and alarming events. Protestants, Catholics, Atheists and Jews were all accused of a conspiratorial tendency as were foreign powers, the pope and even the Devil himself. Through case studies, we examine the relationship between facts, beliefs, medias and political culture. Behind the scene, collective fears fed into a growing public appetite for news. Public and popular opinion during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries increasingly came to be recognised as a powerful political weapon. By closely looking at different case studies and the ways in which they were reported, the course seeks to provide fresh insights into different aspects of the development of a « public sphere » sensitive to rumours.

Bibliography :

– Karl L. Popper, The Conspiracy Theory of Society, London, Routledge, 2005.

– Andrea McKenzie, Conspiracy Culture in Stuart England. The Mysterious Death of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey, London, Boydell Press, 2022.

– James F. Dator, Slave Conspiracies in the British Colonies, Oxford University Press, 2024.

– Conspiracy Theories in American History : An Encyclopedia, 2003.