Claremont Graduate University
Epistemology and Authority in Two Latter-day Saint QAnon Conspiracy Theorists
Abstract
dc:description.abstract<p>QAnon and other far-right conspiracies are significant fixtures within contemporary American culture. Through a series of interviews with two highly engaged QAnon conspiracy theorists who are also members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I analyzed QAnon as an epistemic formation characterized by critique of social conditions, modern standards of rigor in research, and a highly accelerated online information economy. Framing my subjects’ participation in QAnon culture alongside their Latter-day Saint identity allowed for further investigation into dynamics of competing epistemic authority and the role of Mormon identity in shaping conspiracy theory. Finally, I compare the epistemology of conspiracy theory to that of academic research, noting similarities and highlighting the role of legitimating authority within academic institutions.</p>
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- History, MA
- Level thesis:degree_level
- Open Access Master's Thesis
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- School of Arts and Humanities
- Year dc:date.available
- 2023
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Chapman, Indra Jean Louise
- Contributors dc:contributor
-
- Nicola Denzey Lewis
Subjects
dc:subject × 7Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Repository record dc:identifier
- https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/867
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:cgu_etd-1888