SOC 387
Propaganda
Last Offered Fall 2012
Division II
This course is not offered in the current catalog

A sociological analysis of the phenomenon of mass persuasion in modern society. The course will examine the institutional and technical apparatus of modern propaganda and the role of intellectuals and technicians in shaping and disseminating propaganda. The symbolic content of specific kinds of propaganda–political, commercial, social, and organizational–will be considered with attention to propaganda that seeks to overthrow social structures as well as maintain them. The course will proceed through a series of intensive case studies with a particular focus on propagandists themselves, considered as experts with symbols, and on the institutional milieux in which they work. Among other examples, we will examine the U.S. Committee on Public Information during the First World War; the Nazi Ministry of Propaganda; the propaganda machinery in contemporary states and non-state actors of both the left and right; conservative and liberal “public interest” groups; propaganda in contemporary social movements and national political campaigns; the workings of corporate and university personnel offices; and advertising and public relations agencies in the United States. Throughout the course, we will analyze how the language, ideologies, and visual symbols of particular varieties of propaganda seem to affect mass audiences.