David M. Jacobs
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David Michael Jacobs (born August 10, 1942) is an American historian and retired Associate Professor of History at
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
specializing in 20th-century American history. Jacobs is a prominent figure in
ufology Ufology ( ) is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial alien visitors). While there are instances of government, private, and f ...
and the study of the alleged
alien abduction Alien abduction (also called abduction phenomenon, alien abduction syndrome, or UFO abduction) refers to the phenomenon of people reporting their experience of being kidnapped by extraterrestrial beings and subjected to physical and psychological ...
phenomenon, including the use of hypnosis on subjects claiming to be abductees. Jacobs has authored several books on the subject.


Career

Jacobs obtained his Ph.D. from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
in 1973, in the field of intellectual history. He wrote his dissertation on the controversy over unidentified flying objects in America. A revised edition of his dissertation was published as ''The UFO Controversy in America'' by Indiana University Press in 1975. Jacobs 1975 As a faculty member of the Department of History at Temple University, Jacobs specialized in history of 20th-century American popular culture. He stated that his current research interests "involve a delineation of the role of anomalous experiences in personal and cultural life." For over 25 years Jacobs taught a course on "UFOs in American Society."


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. David Jacobs has written five books on the topic of UFOs and alleged alien abductions. In recent years, Jacobs has publicly argued that the evidence from his research, which sometimes includes utilizing
hypnotic regression Age regression in therapy is a psycho-therapeutic process that aims to facilitate access to childhood memories, thoughts, and feelings. Age regression can be induced by hypnotherapy, which is a process where patients move their focus to memori ...
with alleged alien abductees along with traditional interview techniques, purports that alien-human hybrids were engaged in a covert program of infiltration into human society with possibly the final goal of taking over Earth. 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.


Criticism

Jacobs' hypotheses have been criticized as unsupportably dire by those who take a more positive view of the alien abduction experience such as
John E. Mack John Edward Mack (October 4, 1929 – September 27, 2004) was an American psychiatrist, writer, and professor and the head of the department of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. In 1977, Mack won the Pulitzer Prize for his book ''A Pri ...
; Jacobs labels these critics as "positivists" in his writings. 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' 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."
Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is research on ext ...
, Susan Clancy, and
Martin Gardner Martin Gardner (October 21, 1914May 22, 2010) was an American popular mathematics and popular science writer with interests also encompassing scientific skepticism, micromagic, philosophy, religion, and literatureespecially the writings of Lewis ...
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 Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, ...
. Clancy has highlighted problems associated with abduction research, such as faulty memory retrieval when hypnotists "lead" the patient, and a failure to consider
sleep paralysis Sleep paralysis is a state, during waking up or falling asleep, in which one is conscious but is completely paralyzed. During an episode, one may hallucinate (hear, feel, or see things that are not there), which often results in fear. Episodes ...
as an explanation. Gardner explains: "Although Jacobs has had no training in psychology, psychiatry, or hypnotherapy, he uses hypnotism to induce his patients (now more than seven hundred) to develop strong memories of horrendous abductions even though many patients had no such memories until hypnotized (Though many abductees have claimed to remember bits and pieces of the abduction experience without the implementation of hypnotherapy). Jacobs is convinced that five million Americans have been kidnapped at least once by aliens. One female patient, who worked in retail sales, had, according to Jacobs, one hundred abductions in one year, an average of one every three days!" Jacobs has argued that Clancy's methodology was flawed, 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. Moreover, he has stated that her book was factually incorrect.


Written works

* * * * *


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 From Another World), 1995, Paris, Presses de la Cité. .


See also

*
Extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...


References


External links


www.ufoabduction.com
Jacobs' International Center for Abduction Research (ICAR) Web site

Jacobs' faculty page at Temple University Department of History
https://onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/features/aliens-among-us/
a University view point on David M. Jacobs Career and Character. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs, David M American UFO writers Ufologists Temple University faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni 1942 births Living people