Course Schedule

Veranstaltungen von Lena Kostuj

Lehrveranstaltungen

The Rise of Conspiracy Entrepreneurship (Seminar)

Inhalt: Conspiracy theories are no longer 'just content' – they’ve become products being sold online. The rise of so-called 'conspiracy entrepreneurs' (Birchall 2021) goes along with this commodification of conspiracy thinking today. Conspiracy entrepreneurs are not only influential opinion leaders and makers, but they find ways to profit from societal polarization and the accompanying decreased trust in institutions – they become multipliers for disinformation and conspiracy theories to thrive, with significant consequences. Examples of conspiracy entrepreneurs such as Alex Jones in the US or Ken Jebsen in Germany have shown that these actors and their content not only find an audience but also a market. Conspiracy entrepreneurs sell claims that are deeply connected with their self-branding and are often offered alongside actual products. They sell solutions to problems that cannot be grasped and answers to questions that cannot be answered, oftentimes putting themselves at the center of attention.   In this seminar, we will explore the emerging phenomenon of 'conspiracy entrepreneurship' by, on the one hand, looking at the existing (and related) literature, and, on the other hand, by taking a closer look at empirical examples of conspiracy entrepreneurs that we may encounter online and in public discourses. What makes them conspiracy entrepreneurs? Is the term even useful? How can we approach this phenomenon?

Researching Conspiracy Theories: Narratives, Aesthetics and Social Organizing (Seminar)

Dozent/in: Lena Kostuj

Inhalt: Most visibly since the COVID-19 pandemic, the spread of various types of conspiracy content via social media has accelerated. While the term 'conspiracy theory' itself is highly debated, we want to turn towards different methodological approaches to analyzing the phenomenon in-depth.   In this seminar, we will draw from qualitative approaches such as narrative analysis, multimodal analysis, and conversation analysis to discuss different kinds of conspiracy content as communicative and social phenomena. In groups, you will analyze one example of conspiracy content (e.g., a social media post and comments) in your chosen way and present it in class and in (creative) text form so that we, at the end of the semester, have a shared collection of your different insights and perspectives.