Fall 2026

Seeing Through Conspiracy Theories

ARTHIST 102 examines how visual and built environments reinforce conspiracy theories through case studies from ancient to modern contexts.

no offering record for this termCredits unavailable
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 No instructors listed

Summary

No student feedback recorded yet.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades

No recorded grade history.

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

None

  • None
ARTHIST 102

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • None

Professors

Fall 2026

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.

Meeting source records

No records available.

Student experience

the class

Fake news is not a new problem. In taking on this ongoing issue, we begin before living memory (to avoid the deadening effect of feedback loops within today's media world), with a focus on the visual and built environment. How do conspiracy theories work? Do they fall into patterns? How can we recognize them? If they are empowering, how should we think about that? Visual material plays a special role in the reinforcement of conspiracy theories. Case studies around the world, from the Egyptian pyramids to the birth of "modern" art in the twentieth century, center on ways in which an evidence-based account of the making of an artwork or architectural site has been replaced by a (usually more interesting) story about its true, hidden nature. This story usually purports to reveal the "conspiracy" of an empowered institution or group to keep the truth away from average people. Of course, the reality is often much simpler and the dynamics of power more complex.

difficulty & workload

No workload feedback recorded.

Topics

  • Visual and built environment analysis
  • Global case studies including ancient and modern art/architecture
  • Power dynamics and institutional influence

Skills

  • Recognizing patterns in conspiracy theories and visual misinformation
  • Analyzing the contrast between evidence-based accounts and alternative narratives

Grades

Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

No grades available yet.

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records

No offering records for the selected term.

Raw records
[]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews

No records available.

Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "e7e82684dd7a8a01042370f21729b2c84f27ca993002c275751131bb227f5ece",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}