https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0249-1881
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ABSTRACT
The term “propaganda” has gradually vanished from communication studies and has been substituted with a plethora of euphemisms. This relates to the notion of “depropagandization,” that is, the disappearance of the term “propaganda” from certain contexts after World War II. These changes have impacted how communication undergraduate students learn about their discipline. To ascertain whether depropagandization is influencing the ways in which they learn about propaganda and propaganda-related issues – and, consequently, the ways in which civic education on communication is approached – a content analysis was performed on 97 communication degree programs offered at 55 public and private Spanish universities. We analyze the degrees and courses addressing propaganda-related topics, the key terms employed in the titles of the courses, and the relationship between propaganda-related curricula and power, ideology, and the historical past. Results indicate that the Spanish academic world is immersed in a process of depropagandization, thus giving rise to a potentially uncritical – and euphemism-laden – approach to propaganda. Given the relevance that the critical appraisal of propaganda has for democratic societies, depropagandization may undermine the development of a discriminating citizenry, as well as the assessment of potentially harmful messages.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
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2. Ted J. Smith, “Propaganda and the Techniques of Deception,” in Propaganda, 65.
3. Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion, 16.
4. Antonio Pineda Cachero, “Un modelo de análisis semiótico del mensaje propagandístico.”
5. Bertrand Russell, The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell.
6. Timothy Glander, Origins of Mass Communications Research During the American Cold War.
7. David Welch, The Third Reich. Politics and Propaganda; Gabriela Ossenbach Sauter, “La educación en el fascismo italiano y el nacional-socialismo alemán,” in Historia de la educación; Elizabeth Fones-Wolf, “Business Propaganda in the Schools: Labor’s Struggle Against the Americans for the Competitive Enterprise System, 1949–1954.”
8. J. Michael Sproule, “Social Responses to Twentieth-Century Propaganda,” in Propaganda; Glander, Origins; Roy V. Wood and others, “The effect of learning about techniques of propaganda on subsequent reaction to propagandistic communications.”
9. J. P. Young, “Intimate Allies in Migration: Education and Propaganda in a Philippine Village.;” Jacques Driencourt, La propaganda, nueva fuerza política; Terence H. Qualter, Opinion control in the democracies; Philip M. Taylor, Munitions of the Mind. A history of propaganda from the ancient world to the present era; Frederick E. Lumley, The Propaganda Menace; Antonio Pineda Cachero, “Propaganda y educación. Criterios de diferenciación conceptual y comunicacional.”
10. Harold D. Lasswell, “The Study and Practice of Propaganda,” in Propaganda and Promotional Activities. An Annotated Bibliography; Lana F. Rakow, John Dewey: A Critical Introduction to Media and Communication Theory.
11. J. Michael Sproule, “Propaganda Studies in American Social Science: The Rise and Fall of the Critical Paradigm.;” Jefferson Pooley, “The New History of Mass Communication Research,” in The History of Media and Communication Research: Contested Memories.
12. C.W. Anderson, “Propaganda, misinformation, and histories of media techniques.”
13. A.J. Bauer and Anthony Nadler, “Propaganda Analysis Revisited.”
14. Ibid.
15. Lee McIntyre, Posverdad; Susana Salgado, “Online media impact on politics. Views on post-truth politics and post-postmodernism.;” Piers Robinson, “Expanding the Field of Political Communication: Making the Case for a Fresh Perspective Through ‘Propaganda Studies.’.”
16. Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion; Harold D. Lasswell, Propaganda Technique in World War I.
17. Edward L. Bernays, Propaganda.
18. Sproule, “Propaganda studies,” 65.
19. George E.G. Catlin, “The Rôle of Propaganda in a Democracy;” John Perry, “War Propaganda for Democracy;” Alex Carey, Taking the Risk Out of Democracy. Corporate Propaganda versus Freedom and Liberty; J. Michael Sproule, Propaganda and Democracy; Kevin Moloney, Rethinking Public Relations. PR Propaganda and Democracy; Jonathan Auerbach, Weapons of Democracy. Propaganda, Progressivism, and American Public Opinion; Allen Wood, “Propaganda and Democracy;” Institute for Propaganda Analysis, “How to Detect Propaganda,” in Propaganda; Perry, “War Propaganda;” Bernays, Propaganda; Randall L. Bytwerk, “Western and Totalitarian Views of Propaganda,” in Propaganda.
20. Jacques Ellul, Propaganda. The Formation of Men’s Attitudes, 232.
21. Driencourt, La propaganda.
22. Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing consent; Jason Stanley, How Propaganda Works; Holly Kathleen Hall. “The new voice of America: Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act.”
23. Jean-Marie Domenach, La propaganda política; Ellul, Propaganda.
24. Marshall Soules, Media, Persuasion and Propaganda, 9.
25. Lumley, Propaganda Menace, 389.
26. Carey, Corporate Propaganda; Cunningham, Idea.
27. Wood, “Democracy,” 394.
28. Pineda Cachero, Elementos.
29. Sproule, “Responses,” 17–20.
30. Ibid., 17.
31. Taylor, Munitions, 1.
32. Jowett and O’Donnell, Propaganda; Douglas Walton, “What Is Propaganda, and What Exactly is Wrong with It?;” Qualter, Opinion control; Cayce Myers, “Reconsidering propaganda in U.S. public relations history: An analysis of propaganda in the popular press 1810‒1918.”
33. Lumley, Propaganda Menace; Lasswell, “Study;” Emily Robertson, “Propaganda and ‘manufactured hatred:’ A reappraisal of the ethics of First World War British and Australian atrocity propaganda.”
34. Giacomo Sani, “Propaganda,” in Diccionario de política; Haavard Koppang, “Social Influence by Manipulation: A Definition and Case of Propaganda.”
35. Robert Jackall, Propaganda, 5.
36. Robinson, “Political Communication.”
37. Koppang, “Social Influence.”
38. Ibid.
39. Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man, 45.
40. Harold D. Lasswell, “The Function of the Propagandist,” 261.
41. Leonard W. Doob, Public Opinion and Propaganda, 231–232.
42. Doob, Public Opinion; Lasswell, “Study;” Cunningham, Idea; Koppang, “Social Influence;” Robinson, “Political Communication.”
43. Shultz and Godson, quoted in Victoria O’Donnell and Garth S. Jowett, “Propaganda as a Form of Communication,” in Propaganda, 56.
44. Mario Baumann, “‘Propaganda Fights’ and ‘Disinformation Campaigns:’ the discourse on information warfare in Russia-West relations;” Elisabeth Fondren, ““We are Propagandists for Democracy:” The Institute for Propaganda Analysis’ Pioneering Media Literacy Efforts to Fight Disinformation (1937–1942);” Anya Schiffrin, “Fighting Disinformation in the 1930s: Clyde Miller and the Institute for Propaganda Analysis;” Jowett and O’Donnell, Propaganda; Alejandro Pizarroso Quintero, Historia de la propaganda; Anderson, “Propaganda, misinformation.”
45. Christopher Simpson, Science of Coercion: Communication Research & Psychological Warfare 1945–1980.
46. Quoted in Mario Herreros Arconada, Teoría y técnica de la propaganda electoral (formas publicitarias), 83.
47. Myers, “Reconsidering propaganda;” Qualter, Opinion control; Walton, “What Is Propaganda.”
48. Ralph Block, “Propaganda and the Free Society.”
49. Pizarroso Quintero, Historia, 29.
50. Jefferson Pooley and Christian Schwarzenegger, “Faulty Reception: The Institutional Roots of U.S. Communication Research’s Neglect of Public Sphere Scholarship,” in Kommunikations-wissenschaft im internationalen Vergleich. Transnationale Perspektiven, 322.
51. Quoted in Stanley B. Cunningham, “Smoke and Mirrors: A Confirmation of Jacques Ellul’s Theory of Information Use in Propaganda,” in Propaganda, 152.
52. Francisco Ayala, Hoy ya es ayer; Nicholas O’Shaughnessy, Selling Hitler; David Miller and William Dinan, A Century of Spin. How Public Relations Became the Cutting Edge of Corporate Power.
53. Marouf A. Hasian Jr., “Freedom of Expression and Propaganda During World War I: Understanding George Creel and America’s Committee on Public Information.”
54. Florian Zollmann, “Bringing Propaganda Back into News Media Studies,” 332.
55. Sproule, “Social Responses,” 16.
56. Victor Pickard, “Unseeing propaganda: How communication scholars learned to love commercial media.”
57. Koppang, “Social Influence,” 118.
58. Michael Meyen, “Communication Research and Media Studies, History of.”
59. Pooley, “New History,” 48.
60. Simpson, Coercion.
61. Sproule, “Propaganda studies,” 68.
62. Bauer and Nadler, “Propaganda Analysis.”
63. Pickard, “Unseeing propaganda.”
64. Zollmann, “Bringing;” Koppang, “Social Influence.”
65. Sproule, Propaganda and Democracy; Block, “Propaganda;” Ellul, Propaganda; Jowett and O’Donnell, Propaganda; Jackall, Propaganda; Herman and Chomsky, Manufacturing consent.
66. Nicholas J. O’Shaughnessy, Politics and Propaganda. Weapons of mass seduction; Zollmann, “Bringing;” Cunningham, Idea; Koppang, “Social Influence;” Stanley, Propaganda Works; Robinson, “Political Communication.”
67. Luz María Ortega Villa, “Las teorías de la comunicación. Reflexiones desde la docencia,” in Huellas compartidas : ensayos sobre el campo académico de la comunicación en Baja California; Sproule, Propaganda and Democracy.
68. Elihu Katz and Ruth Katz, “Revisiting the origin of the administrative versus critical research debate;” Armand Mattelart and Michèle Mattelart, Historia de las teorías de la comunicación.
69. Ortega Villa, “Teorías.”
70. Patrick Lee Plaisance, “An Assessment of Media Ethics Education: Course Content and the Values and Ethical Ideologies of Media Ethics Students;” Eric Freedman and Richard Shafer, “Ambitious in Theory But Unlikely in Practice: A Critique of UNESCO’s Model Curricula for Journalism Education for Developing Countries and Emerging Democracies;” Megan Knight and Caroline Hawtin, “The New Global J-School: Issues Arising from the Internationalization and Monetization of Journalism Education.”
71. Craig A. Hosterman, “Teaching propaganda;” Harikrishnan Bhaskaran, Harsh Mishra and Pradeep Nair, “Journalism Education in Post-Truth Era: Pedagogical Approaches Based on Indian Journalism Students’ Perception of Fake News.”
72. Bruce Mutsvairo and Saba Bebawi, “Journalism Educators, Regulatory Realities, and Pedagogical Predicaments of the ‘Fake News’ Era: A Comparative Perspective on the Middle East and Africa,” 150.
73. Margarita Garbisu Buesa, “Los estudios de Comunicación en la UDIMA: diez años de historia,” in Docencia & Investigación en comunicación en España; Marta Civil i Serra, “Los estudios universitarios de comunicación en España (Citation2018). Análisis de la situación actual para un debate abierto sobre su futuro estratégico,” in Los y las “tics” en los estudios de comunicación.
74. María del Mar Ramírez Alvarado and Jorge Clemente Mediavilla, Docencia & Investigación en comunicación en España.
75. Adrián Huici, “Propaganda y publicidad política: Algunas cuestiones terminológicas,” 97–98.
76. Klaus Krippendorff, Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology.
77. Civil i Serra, “Estudios.”
78. Miquel Rodrigo Alsina, Teorías de la comunicación. Ámbitos, métodos y perspectivas.
79. Pizarroso Quintero, Historia.
80. Civil i Serra, “Estudios.”
81. Pineda Cachero, Elementos; Myers, “Reconsidering propaganda.”
82. Nilsson, “American Propaganda;” Anderson, “Propaganda, misinformation.”
83. Robinson, “Political Communication.”
84. Marlin, Ethics.
85. Domenach, Propaganda, 48.
86. Sproule, “Propaganda studies;” Pooley, “New History.”
87. Maia Chankseliani and others, “Higher education contributing to local, national, and global development: new empirical and conceptual insights.”
88. Sproule, “Social Responses;” Robinson, “Political Communication,” 10.
89. Jay Black, “The Ethics of Propaganda and the Propaganda of Ethics,” in The Routledge Handbook of Mass Media Ethics.
90. Wood and others, “Effect.”
91. Pickard, “Unseeing propaganda.”
92. Alejandro Barranquero Carretero, “Estudios de comunicación y vigencia de la teoría crítica en España.”
93. Tetyana Kloubert, “Propaganda as a (new) challenge of civic education,” 142.
94. Martha C. Naussbaum, Not for profit. Why democracy needs the humanities.
95. Zollmann, “Bringing,” 342.
96. Anderson, “Propaganda, misinformation.”
97. McIntyre, Posverdad.
98. Maurizio Ferraris, Posverdad y otros enigmas; Mira Sotirovic, “Trumpaganda: The War on Facts, Press, and Democracy,” in The SAGE Handbook of Propaganda.
99. Sproule, “Social Responses,” 66, 68.
100. Simpson, Coercion.
101. Bauer and Nadler, “Propaganda Analysis.”
102. Bernays, Propaganda, 9.