Media – Conflicts – Propaganda.� Old and New Perspectives in Communication Studies
Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan, POLAND, 26-28.02.2026
Day 1. War&Cinema, room 43� 26.02.2026
10:30 Opening Ceremony� Agnieszka Stępińska, Prof., Vice-dean for international projects and cooperation
11:00-12:30� Interpretation of war cinema – workshop based on Peter J. Haas's concept of political cinema typology (Jakub Jakubowski, AMU)
12:30-13:30� Lunch break
13:30-16:00� Looks who`s back (Er ist wieder da), David Wnendt (director), 2015 - film screening and discussion (Lyazzat Tungatarova, IITU)
Programme
Day 2. Narrative, Memory, and Decolonising History / Disinformation – European procedures and experience, part 1, room 43� 27.02.2026
10:00-11:15
Historical metaphors & global politics: The case of “300” by Zack Snyder (Bartosz Hordecki, AMU)
11:30-12:45� Current issues on internet security (Lyazzat Tungatarova, IITU)
12:45-13:30� Lunch break
13:30-15:30
Countering and Detecting Disinformation in Poland and the European Union: Fact-Checking Networks, Institutional Responses, and Practical Online Verification Tools, Mateusz Cholewa, Demagog NGO.
15:30� Campus Tour
Programme
Day 3. Narrative, Memory, and Decolonising History / Disinformation – European procedures and experience, part 2, room 43
28.02.2026
9:00-11:30�War, nationalism, communism: Ida by Paweł Pawlikowski (Jakub Jakubowski, Bartosz Hordecki, AMU)
11:30-12:00� Coffee break
12:00-13:30�Freedom of expression under the pressure. Media – censorship - propaganda in contemporary world, lecture (Jędrzej Skrzypczak, AMU)�
13:30� Closing Ceremony
Programme
Interpretation of war cinema – workshop based on Peter J. Haas's concept of political cinema typology
What is politics?
→ Politics as the art of governing a state
Politics as an activity aimed at achieving the common good and organizing social life within a state.
Source: Aristotle, Politics.
→ Politics as the struggle for power
Politics is the art of acquiring and maintaining power, often through deception and force.
Source: Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince.
Chinese restaurant
→ Created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld – The show premiered in 1989 and is often described as a “show about nothing,” focusing on everyday life.�
→ Aired on NBC from 1989 to 1998 – It ran for 9 seasons and became one of the most influential sitcoms in TV history.�
→ Set in New York City – Most episodes revolve around the daily lives of four main characters: Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer.�
→ Revolutionized sitcom storytelling – It popularized observational humor, quirky social situations, and interconnected storylines within a single episode.�
→ The series finale was one of the most watched TV events ever – The last episode in 1998 attracted over 70 million viewers in the United States.
Chinese restaurant
→ Who should get the table first?
→ Politics as the distribution of values and resources
A modern approach represented by David Easton, who defined politics as "the authoritative allocation of values in society."
Source: David Easton, A Systems Analysis of Political Life.
“who gets what, when, how.”
H. Lasswell
What is politics ?
A typology of political film by Peter J. Haas
P.J. Haas, A Typology of Political Film, Working Paper #11, Political Film Society, Manuscript Received March 2000, Hollywood, p. 5.
High political content
Low political content
Strong political will
Weak political will
Politically reflective films
Social reflective films
Pure political films
Auteur political films
It` A Wonderful Life, 1946.
reż. Frank Capra
What is politics?
Workshop 1
Find one Polish and one Kazakh film from each category of political films according to Peter Haas. Try to describe them briefly and explain why you placed them in a given category.
Looks who`s back (Er ist wieder da)
Workshop 2
1. What is the goal of the film?
2. What do you believe are the director`s motivations and what is the message he is sending?
3. What argument may refute the film message?
4. Briefly describe the context in which the film was made?
5. Is the movie's idea/message is still important?