Chevron Left
Back to Conspiracy Planet

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Conspiracy Planet by University of California, Santa Cruz

4.4
stars
34 ratings

About the Course

This course is for anyone interested in conspiracy theories. Millions of people around the world believe in conspiracy theories like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, or that AIDS was deliberately created by governments and pharmaceutical companies, or that on September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center complex was downed not by airplanes, but by a “controlled demolition” masterminded by the United States national security state. What are we to make of these claims? What do they say about our societies? How do they impact history, or reflect larger historical trends? How do we understand the context of these ideas? And how do we understand them in relation to objectively confirmed conspiracies, of which there are at least as many? How do we know when a conspiracy has really happened, and cannot simply be dismissed as a ‘theory’? We will grapple with these questions together through short videos, quizzes that will help you check your understanding of the material, discussion, and a final project in which you will create your own conspiracy theory....

Top reviews

RK

Apr 14, 2023

I loved this course. The professor is openminded and helps us explore the backgrounds that create conspiracies. I would take this again if I could!

ER

Mar 21, 2023

very fun class And really helps to learn how to sort through ral news and made up news.

Filter by:

1 - 16 of 16 Reviews for Conspiracy Planet

By Kathy C

Jan 1, 2023

Very interesting, fast-paced, light-hearted course! . The Professor and his videos were great, I highly recommend this course.

I didn't know anything about any conspiracy theories, until the pandemic changed everything. (Right now it's Jan 1, 2023, in the USA). Unfortunately, now it seems like a good idea to know some of the most prevalent and violent ones out there. :(

After taking this course, I'm not sure I feel better about the conspiracy theories circulating here in the USA! But I do strangely feel relieved that conspiracies have always attracted a certain audience, and have been around for a long time, and the world didn't end, so we might all be ok after all.

Peace, and hoping 2023 is better than 2022 for everyone!

By KIP B

Dec 17, 2022

Excellent content and presentation. Truly gifted professor. Would have given it 5 stars had he not been so liberal with his leftist views on the Palestinian issue

By EK K

Mar 26, 2023

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! What a wild ride across the wave of conspiracies! Well done, thorough and told with a bit of snap. The professor is a delight. Wish he would teach another one!

NOT JUST THIS COURSE, HOWEVER: All Coursera courses I have ever taken have horrid transcription errors in spelling and grammar and often do not match what the instructor is discussing. Amy instructor interested in a better transcription need to reach out. Very poor transcribed material.

By Maheen A

Apr 30, 2024

I really the course and how the instructor explained the pathology and history behind all the conspiracies. Several of these conspiracies have been floating on the internet for a while, and its nice to gain some clarity over them and hear someone provide a more balanced and academic take on them.

By Enrique M C

Jun 2, 2023

A very interesting course, very agile that offers a more than interesting panorama on this topic so current. Excellent recommended bibliography. Thank you Coursera, thank you University of Santa Cruz!

By Robbi K

Apr 15, 2023

I loved this course. The professor is openminded and helps us explore the backgrounds that create conspiracies. I would take this again if I could!

By ines p b

May 15, 2023

Amazing course in general.Prof. Lazar very easy to understand. I enjoy to learn the concept and every conspirancy he explain.

By Erica R

Mar 22, 2023

very fun class And really helps to learn how to sort through ral news and made up news.

By Greg H

Oct 21, 2023

very good thank you University of California, Santa Cruz and Matthew LasarOpens in a new tab

By Mary E

Aug 28, 2022

Very informative and entertaining course!

By Rudolf N

Jul 5, 2023

An eye-opener for which I am grateful.

By kayleigh p

Mar 22, 2024

Amazing

By Jack M

Jul 28, 2023

Interesting, covering some of the big historic conspiracy theories and the psychology behind them. Would be worth updating to a post-COVID society, and making the end of week questions more difficult rather than tick-boxy

By Joseph G

Jan 20, 2023

Did much to clarify the national ambiguity caused by these heroic and tragic passages.

By Elaine H

Feb 9, 2022

interesting...i just took it for interest and it was definately different

By Volodymyr A

Aug 6, 2024

Among all the fascinating conspiracy theories out there the author has chosen the conspiracies around Monroe and princess Diana... Atlantis, UFO, Hollow Moon, Flat Earth, Ancient Aliens, CIA programs, Lizard people, North Pole Civilization, Edgar Casey, Tesla's 3-6-9, Committee of 300 and dozens of other interesting topics could have been picked for analysis, but no... I'm okay with Kennedy assassination, although it's also not the most intriguing, but other things... Finally, the course offers almost zero theoretical, philosophical and especially no biological/evolutionary explanations of why our brain likes conspiracies. Which should have been the CORE of this course. Verdict - I can't recommend this material even as a curious video. Maybe only to those interested specifically in these conspiracy theories.