CMST 132 – Techniques of Propaganda
Winter Quarter 2013
INSTRUCTOR: |
Michael Korolenko |
PHONE: |
425-564-4109 |
e-mail: |
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OFFICE HOURS: |
by appointment |
TEXTBOOKS: |
AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH |
COURSE
DESCRIPTION:
This course focuses on the technological and communicative
techniques of film and video that allow information to be targeted at specific
individuals and groups, to create opinions, generate sales, develop propaganda,
and other goals of media persuasion. It is the goals to: 1) increase student
awareness of media persuasion by examining a variety of historical and current
media campaigns; 2) demonstrate the techniques and technologies of media-based
persuasion; 3) give students the opportunity to test and validate persuasion
techniques with simple media presentations; and 4) assist in the development of
critical analysis skills as applied to the production of media messages. This
will be accomplished through online "lectures", discussions, written
assignments, and a variety of film and video clips.
THE ONLINE COURSE
will be presented in the form of a museum or World’s Fair exhibit dealing with
the technology of persuasion and propaganda. Each area will contain different
forms of propaganda: print, television, etc. as well as the types of propaganda
and persuasion we face in our technological society: political,
product-oriented, philosophically oriented, etc.
COURSE
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of the class, the student will be able to:
MAJOR
ASSIGNMENTS:
GRADING will be as follows: To figure out your grade, simply
add your grades together and divide by the number of assignments there are (for
example: if there are four assignments, you add the four grades together and
divide the sum by four).
STUDENTS
ARE EXPECTED TO POST ON EACH BULLETIN BOARD AT LEAST TWICE!
WEEKLY
TOPICS AND DISCUSSIONS:
Week 1 INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL OVERVIEW |
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Overview and The Power of Images ASSIGNMENT FOR MID WEEK: Read
chapter 9 in AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH. Research the variety of propaganda techniques utilized by
the Allies and the Axis during World War II. |
Week 2 - AMERICAN PROPAGANDA: LEFT AND RIGHT |
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Persuasion and the use of symbols and metaphors ASSIGNMENT DUE ASSIGNMENT: CASE STUDY 1 - TYPE A CONCISE
OPINION PIECE ON "THE PROPAGANDA BATTLE" WAGED DURING THE SECOND
WORLD WAR - DUE WEEK 3. No more than 2 pages |
Week 3 - MODERN MEDIA AND PERSUASION |
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From McLuhan to the Information Infrastructure ASSIGNMENT: Read chapter 7 in
AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH - |
Week 4 - FILM AND VIDEO TECHNIQUES |
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Editing to persuade and/or inform ASSIGNMENT: read chapters 1 and 2
in AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH - OPTIONAL - VIEW Bill Moyer's "Illusions
Of News" on reserve at Library Media Center (CASE STUDY 2 DUE)
See Calendar and Assignment page. Write
an essay on which one of the GUN CONTROL articles in the Gallery is the most
persuasive and why and which is the least persuasive and why. |
Week 5 - NEWS AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE |
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The change in the newsroom: new rules, new technologies |
Week 6 - EDUCATIONAL FILMS & VIDEOS: PERSUASION AS
EDUCATION AND TRAINING |
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How does instructional media really work? ASSIGNMENT: Read
chapter 10 in AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH OPTIONAL - View "60
Minutes" segment on propaganda in schools CASE STUDY - ONE
OPINION ESSAY DUE: Creationism vs. Evolution (see
this Week's exhibits). Also - post on BB - do you think political correctness
can be seen as a form of propaganda? Why or why not? |
Week 7 - TEACHING AS AN AMUSING ACTIVITY |
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Educational technology today and in the future - Is it
necessary for education to be "fun"? |
Week 8 - THE ART OF THE DOCUMENTARY |
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Brief history of the documentary film/video ASSIGNMENT: Optional - View
"THE WAR GAME" - on reserve at Library Media Center - also
available in Seattle through Scarecrow Video CASE STUDY 3 WILL BE
DUE Either View "The Atomic Cafe" (on reserve at
the Library Media Center) or Research U.S. Atomic Policy for Civilians during
the 1950s - Write and email a ONE PARAGRAPH
OPINION PIECE ON WHETHER OR NOT YOU THINK OUR GOVERNMENT WAS ENGAGED IN
PROPAGANDA CONCERNING ATOMIC POLICY/WHY OR WHY NOT OR WHETHER
"THE WAR GAME" CAN BE VIEWED AS PROPAGANDA |
Week 9 - ADVERTISING: TURNING FANTASY INTO REALITY |
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Print advertising vs. television advertising Read chapter 11 in AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH -
OPTIONAL - View Bill Moyers' "Consuming Images" and tape on Advertisements FINAL CASE STUDY DUE |
Week 10 - FINAL GROUP PROJECTS DUE |
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Review: Who was right - Orwell or Huxley? FINAL GROUP PRESENTATION SITE -
DUE WEEK 11 |
ESSAYS
When composing your essays, remember
that you will be graded on the following:
1) Organization/Focus: Do you provide a clear focus and point of view? Do your
ideas make sense, and are they logically presented? 2) Observations: Do you
have an interesting or original point of view? 3) Writing style: Read your
essay out loud. Does it flow well, or is it awkward to read? 4) Details: Are
there spelling or grammatical errors? 5) References: If you use statistical or
factual information, do you include your sources? These can be provided as an
online reference, Web link, or footnote.
HOW
PRESENTATIONS AND CASE STUDIES ARE GRADED:
20%
- Grammar and Spelling
20% - Look of the Piece
40% - Content and Understanding
20% - Organization
100% - TOTAL
ONLINE
ETIQUETTE
Just as in a classroom, disruptions
and impoliteness are not tolerated, neither will they be tolerated within the
confines of our online "classroom." Students are to show respect
towards each other and their instructor, which includes respect and tolerance
for each other’s ideas. Any sort of disrespect will, at the very least, impact
negatively on your class participation grade.
From
The Arts and Humanities Guide:
3.
Classroom Environment: The college's "Affirmation of
Inclusion” is posted in each classroom and sets forth the expectation that we
will all treat one another with respect and dignity regardless of whether or
not we agree philosophically. This expectation is in line with the principle of
free speech in a free society: we have the right to express unpopular ideas as
long as we don't show disrespect for reasonable people who might believe
otherwise. In an on-line course, you will be expressing ideas through the
medium of the course site rather than face to face in the classroom. In that
case, these expectations refer to the courtesy with which you communicate with
one another through e-mails and e-discussions. Part of this respect involves
professional behavior toward the instructor, colleagues, and the class itself.
Disruptive behavior is disrespectful behavior. The Arts and Humanities Division
honors the right of its faculty to define "disruptive behavior,"
which often involves such things as arriving late, leaving early, leaving class
and then returning, talking while others are trying to hear the instructor or
their group members, doing other homework in class, wearing earphones in class,
bringing activated beepers, alarm watches, or cellular phones into class,
inappropriate comments or gestures, etc. In on-line courses, flaming anyone in
the class is also considered disruptive behavior. Such behavior interrupts the
educational process. When you are in doubt about any behavior, consult your
instructor during office hours: we recognize the judgment of the instructor as
the final authority in these matters.
When disruptive behavior occurs, instructors will speak to or e-mail the
students concerned. Those students are then responsible for ending the
disruptions at once. Failure to do so may result in removal of the students
from class.
4. Values Conflicts: Essential to a
liberal arts education is an open-minded tolerance for ideas and modes of
expression which might conflict with one’s personal values. By being exposed to
such ideas or expressions, students are not expected to endorse or adopt them
but rather to understand that they are part of the free flow of information
upon which higher education depends.
To this end, you may find that class requirements may include engaging certain
materials, such as books, films, and art work, which may, in whole or in part,
offend you. These materials are equivalent to required texts and are essential
to the course content. If you decline to engage the required material by not
reading, viewing, or performing material you consider offensive, you will still
be required to meet class requirements in order to earn credit. This may
require responding to the content of the material, and you may not be able to
fully participate in required class discussions, exams, or assignments. Consult
the syllabus and discuss such issues with the instructor.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCES:
Thirty Seconds
Michael Arlen, Penguin Books, Ltd.
The Glass Teat
Harlan Ellison, Ace Books
The Selling of the President, 1968
Joe McGinnes, Pocket Books