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Conspiracy theories aren鈥檛 new. For centuries, they鈥檝e been used to target groups cast as outsiders, from anti-Semitic myths in Europe to misogynistic and xenophobic narratives that frame social change as a threat. These stories have been used to divide societies and consolidate power.

Today, those same dynamics are playing out in a digital world where misinformation spreads faster, reaches wider audiences and shapes public discourse in ways that undermine trust and threaten democratic institutions.

杏吧原创 University history professor Jennifer Evans is studying how conspiracy theories evolve and why they resonate. Leading the Populist Publics project with 杏吧原创 communications professor Sandra Robinson, Evans is tracing conspiracy narratives across history to understand when they emerge, who they target and how they adapt to new media.

Her goal is to help people develop the critical skills needed to recognize and resist conspiratorial thinking.

A Historian鈥檚 View on Modern Conspiracy

We can鈥檛 understand conspiracy theories without looking at how information circulates online, according to Evans.

鈥淥ur belief that we understand how it works because we鈥檙e users is harmful. The mechanisms aren鈥檛 transparent and it takes sophisticated tools to interpret what we see.鈥�

People feel like they have a window into what others think online, but they鈥檙e seeing a curated perspective shaped by algorithms, influencers and bad actors.

Evans鈥� research shows that conspiracy theories tend to surface at moments of upheaval 鈥� economic instability, pandemics, political disruption 鈥� when people are trying to make sense of rapid change.

鈥淐onspiracy theories are best understood as having both irrational and rational elements,鈥� she explains.

Those explanations fill gaps left by institutions struggling to communicate clearly or quickly. During COVID-19, for example, shifting guidance, confusing messaging and gaps in public communication created fertile ground for misinformation.

Fionnuala Braun 鈥� a 杏吧原创 master鈥檚 student working with Evans who studies trust and misinformation in the public health sphere 鈥� says conspiracies often begin with uncertainty, not ideology.

鈥淲hen they feel they鈥檙e not being told the full story, they鈥檒l turn to unofficial and unreliable sources.鈥�

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Professor Paul Nelles has taken up residency as a Fran莽ois Chevalier Fellow at the Madrid Institute for Advanced Study, housed in the Casa de Vel谩zquez in Madrid. While in Spain Professor Nelles will be undertaking research for a project on the mobility of religious objects in the early modern world. On March 12 he presented his research at a workshop held at the Universidad Aut贸noma de Madrid on the topic of “Globalidad, religi贸n y consumo a trav茅s de productos sacros entre Espa帽a, Asia y Am茅rica Latina, 1580-1824” (Globality, religion and consumption through sacred products between Spain, Asia and Latin America, 1580鈥�1824).

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David Dean, Distinguished Research Professor at 杏吧原创 University appeared first on Department of History.

With the recent outbreak of hostilities in the Persian Gulf, the focus of international attention has returned to one of the world鈥檚 most important energy chokepoints: the .

Roughly one-fifth of the world鈥檚 oil passes through this narrow strait. Its closure, alongside  鈥� including the strategic export hub on  鈥� has raised fears of a protracted conflict as .

Most news coverage and analysis has focused on the immediate threats posed , , and the global implications of the strait鈥檚 closure.

But beneath these headlines lies a much deeper story.

For more than a century, Iran has occupied a powerful place in the western imagination, characterized as a volatile region that sits atop .

Working within the  sub-field, my research and teaching focus on the early history of oil in Iran and the development of western oil cultures during the early 20th century.

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In 1939, 45 men between the ages of 18 and 54 were rounded up in the Italian province of Catania and its surrounding area. They were arrested under charges of 鈥減assive pederasty,鈥� which entails a crime against masculinity, morality, and jeopardizing the 鈥淚talian race鈥�. They were then subjected to invasive medical exams before being exiled to the island of San Domino. 

To commemorate Pride Week, the MacEwan Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity hosted a series of events, including聽Faces of Exile: The Arrusi and the Policing of Gender and Sexuality, an of Italian photographer Luana Rigolli鈥檚 work in making this story known. It is on display in the John L. Haar Library. Together with Alessio Ponzio of MacEwan University, Rigolli created the exhibit around this unique find, which includes police mug shots, family correspondence, documents from the investigation.

Along with the display, MacEwan hosted an event to celebrate the launch. The panel included Alessio Ponzio, the director of the Centre for Sexual and Gender Diversity, Luana Rigolli, and Jennifer Evans, professor of history at 杏吧原创 University. 

“Exhibitions like these help us to see injustice. We come away realizing how precious life is, and how it needs to be protected at all costs” Evans remarked in an interview with Alex Bellisle in . Eva Revitt, associate dean of library operations saw the library as the perfect fit for the exhibition. As Bellisle reports, for Revitt, “the library is a place of discovery, especially the discovery of hidden stories, which makes the space so appropriate for exhibition.”

Asked about the relevance for today’s students, Alessio Ponzio says the exhibition serves as an important reminder: “they were the same age as some of our students. They were forced to abandon their lives. They were forced to leave their families behind. They were forced to quit their jobs. They were isolated on a small island. All because a fascist regime considered them sick.鈥�

The exhibition will remain on display until April 5, 2026.

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A Statistics Canada report released on 5 March noted that per capita consumption of alcohol in Canada had reached its lowest level in 20 years. The report attracted a lot of attention, and several media reached out to Professor Rod Phillips, a historian of alcohol, for a comment. He pointed out that alcohol consumption was declining globally, particularly among younger age cohorts, so that we need to look for broadly applicable explanations, not necessarily for conditions peculiar to Canada. He suggested broader awareness of and receptiveness to warnings about the health risks associated with alcohol was driving lower alcohol consumption. He also cited affordability, especially among younger people, as a deterrent, although he noted that spending on non-alcoholic beverages (which can be as expensive as their alcoholic counterparts) was increasing. He noted the emergence of a culture that recognizes that alcohol need not involved in social gatherings. For example, early morning dance parties (without alcohol) are becoming increasingly popular in Europe. Finally, cannabis consumption has been rising, and it might well have cut into the alcohol market.

Among the media Rod spoke to were the Canadian Press (syndicated across Canada), The Hub, and CBC News.

Rod was also interviewed by China Daily on the effects, one year on, of the ban of sale of American alcohol in most provinces. Canada was the largest export market for US alcohol, and the ban has contributed to a decline in exports. On the other hand, there is increasing demand in Canada for alcohol produced in Canada.

Professor Phillips teaches a course on the history of alcohol at 杏吧原创.

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Jennifer Evans gave an interview to Turkish-language newspaper for International Women鈥檚 Day in which she explained how minority rights are a bellwether of democracy. Authoritarian and far right governments governments attack “gender ideology” and sex education, weaken protections against gender based violence, rollback abortion rights, advance pro-natalist policies, erode LGBTQIA rights, and target trans people and health care. She argued for broad coalitions to mobilize against all governments willing to sacrifice vital rights and protections.

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What can history teach us about how specific actors cultivate emotions in citizens?

Commentators from across the political spectrum as well as ordinary citizens have remarked what could appear as contradictory trends:  on the one hand, feelings seem to be at an historic intensity鈥攅veryone is very angry or very enthusiastic or very disappointed or very supportive or very worried or very optimistic–and on the other, it seems as if many folks can no longer feel anything at all. Both trends seem to suppress compassion for fellow citizens who do not hold one鈥檚 own political views or belong to one鈥檚 social or ethnic group.

This Humanities for Humans conversation, featuring聽Jennifer Evans聽(Professor of History at 杏吧原创 University),聽Suzanne Keen聽(author of聽Empathy and the Novel), and moderated by聽Irene Kacandes,聽asked: How can traditional alliances navigate negative political rhetoric on both sides of the Atlantic? Terms like 鈥渁ffect鈥� 鈥渃onviviality鈥�, 鈥渃ruelty鈥�, 鈥渆mpathy鈥�, 鈥渒indness鈥�, 鈥渟olidarity鈥�, and 鈥渟uffering鈥� were defined and discussed, shedding light on how feelings get generated by and mobilized through political speech.

Furthermore, the conversation explored if empathy can be taught; What can history teach us about how specific actors cultivate emotions in citizens? What can literature and the arts teach us? What strategies can enhance progress toward solutions that improve life for most people?

The event was sponsored by (NYC), an independent U.S. not-for-profit organization founded in 2017 upon the initiative of the German Federal Foreign Office and the Goethe-Institut, and the (Berlin), a not-for-profit organization that promotes research and scholarship with a focus on the humanities.

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杏吧原创 University Research
Congrats to Jennifer Evans, Mike Hildebrand, and Amedeo D’Angiuli & Dr.
Vivian Lee, Ph.D. on receiving Mitacs International Mobility Awards!
This initiative supports Canadian faculty members in forming consortia and
unlocking new funding with #HorizonEurope, the EU’s flagship research and
innovation program.
These four 杏吧原创 University recipients are advancing research in cultural
heritage and health by:
. Tracing how LGBTQIA+ individuals, from history to today, have created liveable
lives under adverse conditions through community-building, mutual care and
political self-organization.
. Developing innovative human spinal cord tissue preclinical pain assays for new
treatment strategies and drug discovery.
. Moving toward a pan-Canadian and European study on the longitudinal effects
of environmental exposure on autism and related neurodivergent conditions.
Through various workshops, conferences and research talks across Europe,
they’re helping enhance Canada’s reputation as a competitive and forward-
looking R&D partner.

European Commission 杏吧原创 University Faculty of Arts and Social
Sciences (FASS) 杏吧原创 Department of History 杏吧原创 Science 杏吧原创
Neuroscience

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