| This dissertation focuses on conspiracy narratives that play out in particular settings, the role of mainstream media in circulating these narratives amidst local and national publics, and how these narratives become part of the cultural life of a location part of the experience of residents of and visitors to that location. Conspiracy theory is examined as an interaction between texts and cultural practices that has shaped the physical and cultural landscapes of three locations---Dallas, Texas; Roswell, New Mexico; and Rachel, Nevada (a small town adjacent to a research facility popularly known as "Area 51")---which have developed tourist industries that market, as attractions, historical associations with conspiracy theory. |
