Propaganda theories

To gain knowledge on the propaganda goals, types, its history, contemporary precedents, its links with educational process; to gain knowledge on the partial social engineering and social propaganda, social campaigns of PR. To develop skills for identifying propaganda texts, information wars in the public communication, to develop critical attitudes of the students towards public communication, to develop skills for analysing such kind of communication in respect to propaganda theories and to ideological positions of communication participants.

1. The formation of masses society. Ideology and its essence. The links between ideology and utopia
2. Propaganda’s essence and its functions. An order, persuasion, manipulation, propagation, PR campaign, advertising.
3. Black, grey and white propaganda. Ideologies and propagandas. Political movements of the Right. Liberalism.
4. Catholics propaganda. Islam’s propaganda. Socialist propaganda.
5. History of propaganda. War’s propagandas. Propaganda of the peace.
6. Genres and forms of propaganda. Internet and propaganda. Rhetoric, rumours, manifestations, representations. Written-forms of propaganda (announcements, feuilletons, satire, cartoons).
7. Visual forms of propaganda: posters, stamps, etc. Performative forms of propaganda: performances, spectacles, concerts, festivals, etc. Propaganda and mass-media. Propaganda and cinema.
8. Propaganda as a discourse and its subject. Tools of propaganda subject formation.
9. Resistance to propaganda and a term of transgressive subject. Revolution of everyday life.
10. Democracy and propaganda. Propaganda and society’s self-government.

- To develop skills for analysing various propaganda’s texts
- To develop skills for identifying ideological messages in the public communication
- To develop negative attitudes towards populist demagogy, formed by the tools of propaganda
- To develop positive attitudes towards social constructivism and positive forms of society’s mobilization

The course is a combination of different methods of work – participating in the lecture, problems based teaching, examples’ analysis.

• Analytical project (50%) - Analysis of practical cases of propaganda under the criteria, discussed during the lectures. The cases analysed must be chosen by the students themselves under the consultations of the teacher. The project will be evaluated in the system of 10 grades.
• Exam (semi-closed test) (50%) - A test will consist of 20closed and open questions and will be implemented in the virtual environment. The test will be evaluated in the system of 100 percent; the result of the test will be reduced to the system of 10 grades.

Compulsory reading
Cunningham,S.	2002	The Idea of Propaganda: A Reconstruction	Greenwood Publishing Group
O'Shaughnessy, N.	2004	Politics and Propaganda:Weapons of Mass Seduction	Manchester University Press
Shabo, M.	2008	Techniques of Propaganda and Persuasion	Prestwick House Inc
McLaughlin, G.; Baker, S.	2010	The propaganda of peace : the role of media and culture in the Northern Ireland peace process	Intellect
Cromwell, D.	2012	Why Are We the Good Guys?: Reclaiming Your Mind From the Delusions of Propaganda	Zero Books
Welch, D.	2013	Propaganda: Power and Persuasion	The British Library Publishing Division
Badsey, S.	2015	'The German Corpse Factory': A Study in First World War Propaganda	Wolverhampton Military Studies
Van Herpen, M. H.	2015	Putin's Propaganda Machine: Soft Power and Russian Foreign Policy	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Dean, S. E.	2016	Weaponizing Information: Propaganda Warfare in the 21st Century: Volume 61	Hampton Roads International Security Quarterly