Propaganda - 1st Semester Final Project

As we learned in class, propaganda is any kind of media that tries to manipulate or influence people to change their views on an issue.  Your task for the end of 1st semester is to create a piece of propaganda and write an accompanying paper explaining your propaganda.  You have several steps to accomplish:

1) Choose a topic that we have studied: the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, Colonialism, Imperialism, Nigeria, Congo, WWI, the Russian Revolution, WWII, the Holocaust, the Cold War, etc.

2) Decide on a type of media: Do you want to make a poster?  A leaflet?  A brochure?  A comic book?  A political cartoon?  Write a speech?  Film a press conference?  Examples of posters can be found all over the classroom walls, but here is a good example of a video project: http://youtu.be/jIWaxwyKRtI

3) Decide who the author is: For example, if you decide to pick Belgian Congo, is your propaganda written from the point of view of people in the Congo?  Or will it represent the views of Belgian colonizers?  If you pick WWII, will you portray the Nazis?  The Japanese?  The United States?

4) Decide who the audience is: Who are you trying to convince to believe in your message?

5) Decide what your message is going to be: What are you trying to convince people of?  If you

choose Czechoslovakia before World War II as your author, your message might be that Germany isn’t going to stop invading countries.  If you choose workers in the Industrial Revolution as your author, your message might be that factory owners are stealing money from the workers by not paying them high enough wages.

6) Decide what methods you will use to convey your message: Do you want to use negative propaganda (condemning your enemy) or positive propaganda (praising your own people)?  Do you want to use fear of imminent danger to your homeland?  Dehumanization through animal characteristics?  Slogans?  Symbols?

7) Create your propaganda

8) Write an accompanying piece explaining your propaganda: This will be at least 500 words.  You must explain the following about your propaganda:

a. Topic you chose (and the reasons why you chose it)

b. Which side you chose as the author (and why you chose it)

c. Who your audience is (and why you are trying to convey your message to them)

d. What your message is (what are you trying to convince the audience to think)

e. What methods you chose to use in your propaganda (and why you chose those specific methods)

f. How your chosen methods convey your message

Your propaganda and accompanying explanation are due

during the last week of the semester: Friday, January 20, 2017