This essay explores shifts in modern conspiracy theories that reflect growing mistrust of science—mistrust that has recently manifested in anti-vax sentiments and protests against coronavirus lockdowns. I analyze as my case-studies fringe theories about the shape of the Earth, particularly the shift from Hollow Earth in the last century to Flat Earth. The change in these esoteric theories ultimately reveals a mistrust of government institutions, an emphasis on first-hand experimentation, and a disenchantment with science– all of which I argue are now part of the mainstream zeitgeist.
Click this link to read the full essay, titled “Global conspiracy without a globe? On earth shapes, vaccines, and conspiratorial thinking in the West,” which was published on the Culturico website on February 28, 2022.
Aya Labanieh 