This module considers propaganda, its capacity to persuade individuals and groups, and its relationship to power. Exploring historical and contemporary case studies, it introduces students to different types of propaganda, such as political speeches, television commercials, and sponsored content on social media, and different types of propagandist, from the emperors of Ancient Rome to the multinational corporations of the twenty-first century. It also asks some broader questions about the impact that such practices and actors have on life on earth and the lived experiences of ordinary people.
Students enrolled on the module will learn how to identify propaganda and how to analyse its place within larger political, social, and economic structures. Part of the module will be devoted to propaganda in times of war and crisis, part to propaganda during general elections and referenda, and part to rituals of consumption in late capitalist societies.
It will be taught through a combination of weekly lectures and workshops and assessed with two summative assignments: a plan that informs a campaign analysis or a piece of creative writing. Students are free to choose which route to take and what to write about so long as the material they consider relates to the core themes and messages of the module.