Attendance Arrangements: Free Event. Open to all members of the University. This week the seminar will be online for all MSc, MPhil and DPhil students with surnames starting with A to M. MSc, MPhil and DPhil students with surnames starting with N to Z, as well as departmental faculty and researchers can join in person. The talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.30 for those attending. Contact the Graduate Studies Administrator if you haven't received a Teams meeting link.
Seminar Description: Building on Max Weber’s sociological theory, this study proposes that value-laden and instrumentally rational predispositions can explain beliefs in conspiracy theories. Accordingly, it argues that changing political contexts influencing people’s values and partisan preferences lead to fluctuations between left- and right-wing tendencies in conspiracy theorizing. The presentation discusses two studies. The first explores the significance of the Turkish government’s conspiracy theories about the Gezi Park Protests in a popular forum website, Eksisozluk. The second study (with Ozan Aksoy [UCL]) examines two nationwide surveys. Both research confirm that people interpret the conspiracy theories in line with their values and interests.
