Awful Archives: Conspiracy Theory, Rhetoric, and Acts of Evidence

by Jenny Rice

How does evidence happen? And when evidence happens badly, how can we find a fitting response to those making extraordinary claims? These are the questions driving Jenny Rice’s groundbreaking study into the life of evidence as she seeks to uncover why traditional modes of argument often fail in the face of claims that rely on bad evidence. The chapters make a deep dive into the nature and character of evidence itself by examining literal archives, though some quite unorthodox, as well as more popular archives that exist within public memory. Rice looks to examples that lie at the fringes of public discourse—pseudo-science, the paranormal, conspiracy theories about 9/11, the moon landing, UFO sightings, and Obama’s birth record. Such fringe examples, Rice argues, bring to light other questions about evidence that force us to reassess and move beyond traditional forms of ethics and debate.
After sketching a broader framework for understanding what evidence is, Awful Archives then asks how we can practice more ethical and productive forms of debate, especially when we’re faced with arguments that feel like a dead end. Thorough, engaging, and deeply insightful, Awful Archives: Conspiracy Theory, Rhetoric, and Acts of Evidence introduces an entirely new perspective on evidence—one that will impact the field for years to come.
 

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Academic, Social Science, Politics, Sociology, Conspiracy Theories

226 pages, Paperback

Published April 21, 2020

About the author

Jenny Rice is an associate professor at the University of Kentucky and the author of Distant Publics: Development Rhetoric and the Subject of Crisis.

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is it smart, but Rice's personal experiences, storytelling orientation and attention to strange patterns of reasoning kept me turning pages out of pure curiosity. It's rare that an academic book will pull me through until the end having read every word, but Rice pulled it off. An excellent book for thinking about evidence in a post-truth era, and understanding rhetoric more broadly, particularly for a general audience. Even while reading the book, I referenced insights multiple times in conversations with friends and family, and ended up purchasing the book for my sister-in-law who works in politics.

[Grace Walter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the most interesting and entertaining academic text I've ever read. Rice's prose is incisive, her methodology is fascinating, and her conclusions are challenging in the best way. Weird and wonderful rhetorical theory.

[Emmy M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jenny Rice is awesome and this book is a great dive into archives and the space/place they fill.

[Karla Kitalong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminded me of what I like about doing rhetorical research. Good insights, interesting trajectories, surprising juxtapositions of the personal, theoretical, and political. Rice is a very good writer.

Reading it again with the September 2025 political landscape as my ground, I find it even more insightful.

[Dusti Falgoust · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to have to write a whole thing for school so I will just say that I really enjoyed this. Some parts were a bit rough for me since I don't study rhetoric but the conversation about archives and their role in conspiracy discourse that is in the book is an important one and I highly recommend.

[Arianna (Misdeeds) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to pick a book from a list for class. I saw the title and it got my attention, and I’m glad it did because I genuinely enjoyed reading this. I found the whole thing fascinating and I actually wanted to keep reading. It’s a smart read I like how Rice organizes each chapter and how conspiracies function based on their type of evidence. I would genuinely recommend this to someone

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, and a great inclusion of theory when working through contemporary conspiracy archives. For some reason this was really difficult to get through at first, but I enjoyed it by the end.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking

[George Landau-Pincus · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was so catered to my specific interests and it really really delivered

[Ross Blocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

More detailed review to come.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this from an archivist/library science perspective. I don’t have a big background in rhetoric, so I’m sure a lot of this went over my head. I could only read a little bit at a time because each section really gave me something new to think about. Really gives me new perspective on conspiracy and what draws people to them.