David M. Jacobs

David M. Jacobs
Alma mater University of Wisconsin–Madison
Occupation Historian
Ufologist
Website www.ufoabduction.com

David Michael Jacobs is an American historian and recently retired Associate Professor of History at Temple University specializing in 20th century American history. Jacobs is particularly well known in the field of Ufology for his research and authoring of books on the subject of alleged alien abductions.

Career

Jacobs obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1973, in the field of intellectual history. He wrote his dissertation on the controversy over unidentified flying objects in America.[1] A revised edition of his dissertation was published as The UFO Controversy in America by Indiana University Press in 1975, and sold out (very unusual for an academic work).[2]

As a faculty member of the Department of History at Temple University, Jacobs specialized in history of 20th-century American popular culture.[3] He stated that his current research interests "involve a delineation of the role of anomalous experiences in personal and cultural life."[3] For over 25 years[1] Jacobs taught a course on "UFOs in American Society."[4]

Ufology

Jacobs has a high profile in the field of Ufology. He has lectured widely, been interviewed, and participated in numerous television and radio shows on the subject of alien abductions.[5]

David Jacobs has written five books on the topic of UFOs and alleged alien abductions. In recent years Jacobs has argued publicly that the evidence from his research, which sometimes includes utilizing hypnotic regression with alleged alien abductees along with traditional interview techniques, shows that alien-human hybrids are engaged in a covert program of infiltration into human society with possibly the final goal of taking over Earth.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] He asserts that some of his research subjects are teaching these hybrids how to blend into human society so that they cannot be differentiated from humans, and that this is occurring worldwide.[7]

Criticism

Jacobs's hypotheses have been criticised as unsupportably dire by those who take a more positive view of the alien abduction experience such as John E. Mack; Jacobs labels these critics as "positivists" in his writings.[6] Details of alien abductions reported by Jacobs and so-called "positivist" researchers may not differ to any great extent; criticism of Jacobs by such peers therefore focuses on Jacobs's interpretations - e.g., where Jacobs sees "infiltration" (a negative), others may see "integration" (a positive). Where differences in reports are more substantial (extending beyond the interpretive to actual distinctions between the alleged events reported by those who Jacobs interviews versus those interviewed by others), Jacobs has explained that elements not matching his own perspective are what he terms "confabulations."[14]

Carl Sagan and Susan Clancy have criticized the methods used by Jacobs and other abduction researchers. Sagan asserted that sightings and experiences could be attributed to mistaken identity and faulty memory.[15] Clancy has highlighted problems associated with abduction research, such as faulty memory retrieval when hypnotists "lead" the patient, and sleep paralysis.[16]

Jacobs has argued that Clancy's methodology was flawed,[17] stating that in numerous cases people report they were abducted when fully awake and conscious, and that therefore sleep paralysis is not a tenable hypothesis.[17] Moreover, he has stated that her book was factually incorrect.[18]

Major publications

Translation

  • Secret Life: Firsthand Accounts of UFO Abductions (1992) was translated into French under the title Les kidnappeurs d'un autre monde, présenté par Jimmy Guieu (literally: Kidnappers of Another World), 1995, Paris, Presses de la Cité. ISBN 978-2258038721.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Biography: David M. Jacobs". International Center for Abduction Research (ICAR). Philadelphia, PA: David M. Jacobs. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  2. ↑ Jacobs 1975
  3. 1 2 "The Department of History at Temple University: David M. Jacobs". Temple University. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  4. ↑ "American Studies (AMER ST): Undergraduate Course Descriptions 2010-2011". Temple University Undergraduate Bulletin. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University. Retrieved 2009-11-14. AMER ST 2063: UFOs in American Society. (Formerly: AMER ST 0116.)
  5. ↑ Pippin, Jerry. "Dr. David Jacobs" (WMA). The Jerry Pippin Show (Podcast). Secaucus, NJ; Muskogee, OK: Jerry Pippin Productions. Retrieved 2008-09-10. April 12, 2005, interview; June 2003 interview: Part 1, Part 2.
  6. 1 2 Shermer, Michael; Linse, Pat, eds. (2002). The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 7–8. ISBN 1-57607-653-9. LCCN 2002009653. OCLC 192175688.
  7. 1 2 "Budd Hopkins and Dr. David Jacobs Presents 'Transgenic Beings' DVD". International UFO Congress. 2006. Archived from the original on 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
  8. ↑ Steinberg, Gene; Biedny, David (September 24, 2006). "September 24, 2006 — Dr. David M. Jacobs and Dr. Nick Begich" (MP3). The Paracast (Podcast). Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  9. ↑ "Dr. David Jacobs Presents Abductees' Hidden Lives DVD Presentation". International UFO Congress. 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  10. ↑ "Alien Abduction Agenda with David M. Jacobs, Ph.D." (MP3). ParaNexus Universe. October 16, 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  11. ↑ Jacobs, David M. (October 26, 2008). "Abductions & Hybrids". Coast to Coast AM (Interview). Interview with George Noory. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  12. ↑ "Island Ghost Radio - Dr. David Jacobs - 09-20-09". Island Ghost Radio. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  13. ↑ "Dr. David M. Jacobs - Abductions & The Human Alien Hybrid Program". Red Ice Radio. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  14. ↑ Cherniack, David (Director) (2010). UFOs: The Secret History (DVD video). UFO TV. OCLC 689131537. Addendum 1: Abductions.
  15. ↑ Sagan, Carl (1995). The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1st ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-53512-X. LCCN 95034076. OCLC 779687822.
  16. ↑ Clancy, Susan (2005). Abducted: How People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-01879-6. LCCN 2005050245. OCLC 60550656.
  17. 1 2 Jacobs, David M. (Summer 2006). "Abducted: How People Come to Believe They Were Kidnapped by Aliens". Journal of Scientific Exploration (Book review). Society for Scientific Exploration. 20 (2): 303–312. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  18. ↑ "David M. Jacobs, Ph.D." (Podcast, MP3). Interviewed by Martin Willis of Podcast UFO (Show 27). November 17, 2012. Retrieved 2014-09-01. [audio at 16:30, with transcript found on site] ...Harvard University Press published this book, raw, without any serious person looking at it, and it came out – it was horrible, just horrible, and not horrible because she’s a skeptic. That’s just fine. It was horrible because, as I said, it was just incorrect. Her facts were wrong, things like that.
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