HON 380 - Legends, Rumors, Conspiracies

Must be an Honors student to take this class unless granted permission from faculty and director. The purpose of this course is to familiarize the student with the narrative discourse of contemporary “urban” legends, situating legendry specifically within the spectrum of vernacular modes of communication and media today. We will first explore the historical roots of the legend genre in antiquity and trace its manifestations in pre-Modern to contemporary expressive forms. We then focus on topics at the intersection of communications, digital technologies, and folklore studies. Legends provide significant societal outlets for anxieties and fears such as conveyed through moral panics, public health rumors, conspiracy theories and ‘disruptive’ technological advancements. Contemporary formations within and across digital media and storytelling afford emerging internet legendry, such as Creepypasta, Cryptids, and Conspiracy Theories. Strategies of critical thinking inform our inquiry of recurring entanglements of misinformation, source evaluation, and fact-checking. Letter grade. (Offered as needed.) 3 credits