Hello LDL friends,

I admit to being a little more than surprised at becoming a published author for only the second time in my life. It's also not surprising to me that this only happened because of a lot of very important people in my life. So how did this happen? 

A bit more history is relevant here. While I was working on my Strategic Communication master's degree at SUNY Oswego in 2017, professors Mary Toale and Katherine Thweatt urged me to take up fake news for my thesis. That thesis concerned the effects of social media fake news on college students, which had just begun to have a powerful effect on the population. That work opened my eyes to the very real problem it had created for students to distinguish fact from falsehood. When I began my studies at UIUC in 2018, I knew I wanted to probe this issue more significantly in my dissertation. The breadth and depth of my research into fake news in particular and misinformation in general has been a topic of discussion between Mary Kalantzis, Bill Cope, and me on more than one occasion. So when the opportunity surfaced to write a short essay on the epistemology of conspiracy, Bill and Mary felt I had the requisite background to do the work. With Bill's careful direction and a few drafts, we came up with something readable and understandable. I will share the news of its publication when it happens.

I owe so much to Mary and Katherine (as well as Professor Damian Schofield, who started me on the path to academic writing and my first published article!) for establishing a solid writing foundation for me. I also owe a debt to Mary and Bill as well as everyone in the LDL program, who are doing that same important work for me on a daily basis. I see and appreciate you more than you will know. You and they have earned much of the credit for my publishing efforts. As for those who might be wondering about their own future as a published author, never forget that all the necessary resources needed to make that a reality are right here.

Jim Dunagan