Cmty Dev & Apld Econ: Propaganda, Media, & Cit Respn

Develops critical thinking skills about news media. Studies propaganda, media ownership, and the use of print media, radio, television, and the internet, to influence the public through various propaganda techniques from 1900 to present. Prerequisite: CDAE 1150 or CDAE 1240 or Instructor permission.

Prereqs enforced by the system: CDAE 1150; or CDAE 1240 or Instructor permission Open to Degree and PACE students

In an age where information technology has been almost seamlessly integrated into many of our lives, propaganda studies enjoys a renewal of interest. Fake news, election interference, a digi-sphere rife with political memes, and increased cynicism toward traditional news outlets has left many wondering about the reliability of information for which they are exposed. January 6th, 2021 and its aftermath speak to the complex entanglement of discursive forces that can drive actors in the public sphere. Discourses, which can be defined as demagoguery, have come to permeate new and emerging media spaces resulting in what many have called an era of post-truth. In this course, we address the whirlwind of forces that emerge when demagoguery unites with evolving media forms through historical, theoretical, and critical approaches to propaganda studies. The course begins by tracing the roots of propaganda as a societal phenomenon, and its explosion in the early 20th century. We then track the evolution of the relationship between propaganda, governance, and technology in the first two decades of the 21st century, examining propagandistic patterns of communication emerge in various contexts. This course raises questions regarding the ethics, necessity, and dangers of propaganda. Finally, we explore strategies and tactics for resisting dangerous propaganda in favor of more democratic modes of communication. In this course, you will be asked to analyze and evaluate propaganda, communicating your analysis to a larger audience.