Propaganda
and Persuasion: A Pathfinder
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In wartime, truth is so
precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies. |
This
guide is intended for those researching the topic of mental persuasion of the
masses, widely known as propaganda. This guide primarily focuses on political
persuasion, and somewhat less persuasion in advertising, although some sources
will cover other aspects. Both print and web based sources are included.
Strategies for locating Print Resources:
Many resources on propaganda are currently on library shelves.
Dewey Decimal Classification is used by
many public libraries to organize books and other library materials. You will
find books on advertising under 659.1, and books on different aspects of propaganda
first psychology, under 133-153, and second Politics, under 305-330.
The Library of Congress Classification
System is used to organize books in many academic libraries. Books are found
under various numbers often based on the country or time period the propaganda
or persuasion occurred. Most books occur under the numbers 91036496-99026606.
Selected books:
Brave New World
By Aldous Huxley
A novel relating the future, and the future of propaganda used as
a massive, engineered tool for the masses.
The Hidden Persuaders
By Vance Packard
A book explaining the hidden tactics of advertisers to
influence the American masses in buying their products.
Age of propaganda :the everyday use and abuse of persuasion
By Anthony R. Pratkanis
This book draws on historical propaganda tactics and reveals mass
social persuasion in action. It also tells how we can protect ourselves from
propaganda.
Beyond Hypocrisy : Decoding the News in an Age of Propaganda :
Including a Doublespeak Dictionary for the 1990s
By Edward S. Herman
This is a book addressing current propaganda, challenging your
belief in accepted values and current issues in America, the author hopes to
challenge and educate the reader.
Parting the Curtain
: Propaganda, Culture and the Cold War, 1945-1961
By Walter L. Hixson
This book focuses
on the culture clash in Eastern Europe of Soviet vs. American propaganda. It
looks at the impacts of propaganda and how it can alter culture.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
By Robert B. Cialdini
This book shows the psychology behind persuasion, how to persuade
others, and how to resist such persuasion and shows the 6 human traits released
when persuasion occurs.
Strategies for locating Web-Based Resources:
The below sites in general are well maintained and have quality
content and material.
http://dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Communications/Propaganda/
This site is a basic listing for good links to propaganda web
pages. Yahoo! has categorically found these sites, but reader beware, check the
source, as not all sites from Yahoo! are always legitimate.
http://www.ministryofpropaganda.net/
The Ministry of Propaganda has good link resources researched by
the author of the page. He also has
some good examples of propaganda listed on his site, ranging from American
propaganda towards Palestine to WWII propaganda from Germans to Russians.
An online archive of primary source Communist propaganda texts
and speeches, this site has many quality examples of propaganda ranging from
Karl Marx to Mao Tse-tung, a Chinese leader and writer.
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/
Another online archive, this time of German and East German
propaganda that has many quality examples of propaganda of the Nazi party and
before.
The Psychological Operations Veterans Association (POVA) is not
really a propaganda site, but has good examples of current propaganda being
used against Afghanistan by our military. For more current issues, visit this
site.
http://www.pbs.org/redfiles/prop/index.htm
An analysis of Soviet propaganda by PBS. A quality site in its
analysis, but does not have many pictures. Overall, good background
information.
http://www.africa2000.com/PNDX/pndx.htm
An excellent site for definitions of propaganda terms, and the
terms used by our government. This site also provides interesting texts and
links for the researcher.
Image Resources:
http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/
This site offers an image list of Chinese propagandist posters,
an excellent archive of the posters from the Communist China era.
Online databases, specifically Encarta, get into the history of
propaganda, and can be a quality tool for a researcher starting out. The
researcher should shy away from certain databases, specifically ones dealing
with current articles and news, such as Ebscohost or FACTS.com
due to the nature of propaganda. Often propaganda is only noticed in hindsight,
and current databases do not always have the best sources for this. However, Bigchalk
can often be a good starting point for researchers with its wide array of
propaganda articles.
Primary Sources
In propaganda, primary source
material, especially quotes from leaders, are very telling. Many dictators have
assumed a campaign of propaganda, and looking at leaders such as Stalin and
Hitler will provide a telling look at propagandist material.
All propaganda has to be popular and has to adapt its spiritual
level to the perception of the least intelligent.
—Hitler
Important search terms to use include “propaganda”,
“persuasion”, “persuasion in advertising”, “communist propaganda”, or
“political propaganda”.
Propaganda can appear anywhere, and has in the last 100 years.
Today, propaganda can slightly be inserted in a document seemingly bereft of
it. Searches for “propaganda” seem to do well, but one must also look into
previous campaigns of propaganda, such as the Communist USSR or China, or even
American campaigns.
Motivation
is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want
to do it.
—Dwight D. Eisenhower