Thinking Critically About the Kennedy Assassination

Debunking the Myths and Conspiracy Theories
1. Auflage 2022
ISBN: 978-1-032-11447-7
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 508 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 766 g

Reihe: Conspiracy Theories

Thinking Critically About the Kennedy Assassination uses the tools of critical thinking, historical research, and philosophical inquiry to debunk the many myths and conspiracy theories surrounding JFK’s shocking and untimely death.

As we approach the 60th anniversary of the violent public assassination of President John F. Kennedy, over half of all Americans surveyed continue to believe that he was killed by a conspiracy involving multiple assassins. Through its reasoned and detailed analysis of the content and evolution of JFK conspiracy narratives, this book also serves as a comprehensive case study of paranoid reasoning and modern mythmaking. The book’s opening chapters lay out the "official" academic consensus concerning the Kennedy assassination (better known as the "Lone Gunman Theory") and discuss the origins of popular interpretations of Kennedy’s life and death, such as the nostalgic myth of "Camelot," the unsympathetic "Irish Mafia" narrative, and the many conspiracy theories critical of both. Subsequent sections scrutinize the alleged motives of leading conspiracy suspects, the ballistic, forensic, and medical evidence related to JFK’s murder, and the most popular "proofs" of an enduring government cover- up. The book concludes that no clear evidence exists to suggest that JFK was the victim of a conspiracy and ends with a discussion of the causes and consequences of paranoid thinking in contemporary public discourse.

This volume will appeal to students of history, politics, psychology, and cultural and media studies, and to a broader audience interested in American history, critical thinking, and conspiracy thinking.

Zielgruppe

Academic, Postgraduate, and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Gagné, Michel Jacques

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Weltgeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction: Knowledge and Conspiracy Theories PART I: MYTH AND COUNTER MYTH: Will the Real JFK Please Stand Up? 2. Three Dead in Dallas: The "Official Story" 3. The Kennedy Mystique: From Irish Mafia to Camelot 4. Case Never Closed: The Evolving Conspiracy Narrative PART II: MOTIVE: "Like Caesar, He Is Surrounded by Enemies…" 5. The Anti-Civil Rights Movement: Right Wing Racists, Nixon, and the FBI 6. "Double Cross! Double Cross!": The Mafia and Jack Ruby 7. Spooks and Nukes: The CIA and its War on Cuba 8. Dominoes and Dictators: The Pentagon and the War in Vietnam 9. "A Damned Murder, Inc.!": LBJ and the Warren Commission 10. "I’m Just a Patsy!": Lee Harvey Oswald’s Life and Motive PART III: MEANS: "It’s Gonna Be a Turkey Shoot!" 11. The Shooting Gallery: The Motorcade and Dealey Plaza 12. The Man in the High Window: The Evidentiary Case Against Lee Harvey Oswald 13. Going Ballistic: Of Missing and Magic Bullets PART IV: OPPORTUNITY: "We’re Through the Looking Glass Here!" 14. The Secret Cleaning Service: Did JFK’s Bodyguards Cover Up a Conspiracy? 15. Of Missing Wounds and Fake X-Rays: Was JFK’s Autopsy a Fraud? 16. Crop Marks on My Face: Were Lee Oswald’s Backyard Photos Doctored? 17. America’s Bloodiest Home Video: Is the Zapruder Film Authentic? 18. Conclusion: Why Conspiracists Rewrite the Past

Über Autor(innen)

Michel Jacques Gagné teaches courses in critical thinking, political philosophy, philosophy of religion, and ethics in the Humanities Department of Champlain College Saint- Lambert, a junior college (CÉGEP) located near Montreal, Canada. He has an M.A. in History (Concordia University, Canada, 2005), with a thesis on civil rights protests in Northern Ireland during the 1960s, and undergraduate degrees in Education (McGill University, Canada, 1999) and History and Political Science (with joint-honors, McGill University, Canada, 1995). He has published articles in Skeptic, the National Post, the Encyclopedia of Religion and Violence, and History Studies: The History Society Journal at the University of Limerick. He is also the creator and host of the Paranoid Planet podcast, which discusses conspiracy theories and related phenomena. He resides with his wife and two children in Montreal, Canada.