Jason Colavito
OccupationAuthor
EducationBachelor of Arts
Alma materIthaca College, Ithaca, New York
Notable worksThe Cult of Alien Gods: H.P. Lovecraft And Extraterrestrial Pop Culture
Website
jasoncolavito.com

Jason Colavito (born 1981) is an American author and independent scholar specializing in the study of fringe theories particularly around ancient history and extraterrestrials. Colavito has written a number of books, including The Cult of Alien Gods (2005), The Mound Builder Myth (2020), and Legends of the Pyramids (2021).

Biography

Colavito attended Auburn High School, in Auburn, New York, and graduated summa cum laude from Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in anthropology and journalism in 2003.[1][2]

Colavito's work has largely focused on debunking "alternative archaeology".[3] His work has been cited in by John Kelly in a The Washington Post opinion column[4], by Stephen Winick and Firas Al-Atraqchi in The Huffington Post opinion pieces,[5][6] and other publications, as well as on the History Channel.[1][7]

In 2005, Colavito authored The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture, published by Prometheus Books. In the book, Colavito explores the influences of H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos on the popular works of Erich von Däniken (author of Chariots of the Gods?) and Graham Hancock, as well as its overall influence on "extraterrestrial pop culture".[8]

In 2008 Colavito's The Science of Horror, the Horror of Science was published. The book examined the history and science of the horror genre with a particular focus on providing a broad overview and introduction to the subject. A reviewer in the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts concluded "Academia aside, this is among the finest introductions to the horror genre I have read." and commends his epistemological approach to analyzing the genre.[9]

In 2018 the SPLC referred to Colavito as an independent scholar with an expertise in the convergence of fringe theories with contemporary politics.[10]

In 2021, Colavito published articles regarding UFOs in Slate and The New Republic.[11][12][13] He was also interviewed for an article in Slate about the links between ancient aliens conspiracies and contemporary right-wing conspiracies like QAnon.[14]

Bibliography

His work has appeared in publications such as The New Republic, Slate, Esquire Magazine[15] and Skeptic magazine.[3][1][16][17][18]

Books (as author)
Books (as editor)
Books (as translator)

References

  1. ^ a b c Colavito, Jason. "Jason Colavito Biography". Jason Colavito. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  2. ^ "Achievers". Syracuse, NY. Post-Standard. August 7, 2003.
  3. ^ a b Beth Beer, Cuddy (November 21, 2005). "New Book Sends The Saucers Spinning; Author Rebuts Claims Extraterrestrials Created Civilizations On Earth". Syracuse, NY. The Post-Standard.
  4. ^ "Perspective | I once made fun of UFOs. Now the U.S. government is giving me second thoughts". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  5. ^ Winick, Stephen D (July 8, 2014). "Killer Legends Available on DVD and iTunes". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  6. ^ Al-Atraqchi, Firas (December 5, 2012). "Let's Not Omit History Because It Is Convenient". The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  7. ^ "AAD Podcast – Jason Colavito Interview" Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  8. ^ Joshi, S. T. (2006). Icons of Horror and the Supernatural: An Encyclopedia of Our Worst Nightmares. Greenwood. p. 126. ISBN 978-0313337802.
  9. ^ a b Wilson, D. Harlan (2009). "The Science of Horror, the Horror of Science Review Essay: The Science of Horror, the Horror of Science Knowing Fear: Science, Knowledge and the Development of the Horror Genre by Jason Colavito Review by: D. Harlan Wilson". Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. 20 (1): 109–116.
  10. ^ Zaitchik, Alexander. "Close encounters of the racist kind". splcenter.org. SPLC. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  11. ^ Colavito, Jason (2021-05-21). "How Washington Got Hooked on Flying Saucers". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  12. ^ Colavito, Jason (2021-12-14). "Congress Is About to Send the Pentagon on a Wild Flying-Saucer Chase". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  13. ^ Colavito, Jason (2021-02-12). "What UFOs and Joe McCarthy Have to Do With the Assault on the Capitol". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  14. ^ DeVega, Chauncey (2021-06-21). "Why Tucker Carlson loves UFOs: Jason Colavito on the hidden links between conspiracy theories". Salon. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  15. ^ Colavito, Jason (30 September 2021). "It's Time We Let James Dean Be the Queer Icon He Is". Esquire. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  16. ^ "Cult of Alien Gods". California Bookwatch. April 1, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  17. ^ Callahan, Tim (June 22, 2005). "Dawn of the Aquarian age". Skeptic.
  18. ^ Cowie, Jonathan. "The Cult of Alien Gods: H. P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture". Non-Fiction Reviews. Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  19. ^ Timmerman, Nicholas A. (February 2022). "The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race" by Jason Colavito, and: Colonizing the Past: Mythmaking and Pre-Columbian Whites in Nineteenth-Century American Writing by Edward Watts (review)". Journal of Southern History. 88 (1): 155–157. doi:10.1353/soh.2022.0013. S2CID 246819009.
  20. ^ Jennings, Matthew (Winter 2021). "The Mound Builder Myth: Fake History and the Hunt for a "Lost White Race." By Jason Colavito". Western Historical Quarterly. 52 (4): 459–460. doi:10.1093/whq/whab093.
  21. ^ Ransom, Amy J. (March 2010). "Review: Delightful Horrors". Science Fiction Studies. 37 (1): 115–117. JSTOR 40649592. Retrieved 9 August 2022.

Further reading

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