The Propaganda of Culture: Changing Perspectives
Class Description (we are still making changing to our description and are open to ideas :) )
In our course we will explore how media has caused conflicts and biases throughout the world and within our own communities.Throughout the week we will identify global and local cases of cultural biases and the resulting conflicts. We will help students define and understand what culture is for them as individuals by exploring symbolism, iconography, and graphic art. Students will use ideas from their own drawings and paintings to create and design a one of a kind t-shirt. Students will also confront their own cultural biases and begin to learn ways to reframe their thinking. Through this process, students will create PSA style videos that will be viewed at the final banquet. Videos will utilize humor, drama, and straight talk to blast a message of diversity and unity, challenging the propaganda about culture we see in media today.
10 comments:
Hi y'all! This course sounds rad -- wish I could sit in :) One quick thought is that I am curious as to how you will navigate the idea that "media" is more complex than just being responsible for causing conflict/bias. For example, I think about our current sociopolitical context and the intentional destabilization of the free and independent press by the current administration, which has had wide-reaching negative consequences. One of the key moves of a fascist government is to destroy the credibility of the press in order to move from truth-telling to government-produced propaganda. I am concerned by the phrasing of the first sentence, because it seems to suggest that media is always bad/wrong and this could unintentionally affirm the "post-truth" perspective that our kids are growing up surrounded by. Is there a more nuanced way to approach media bias that recognizes the role media plays in perpetuating injustice (I'm thinking of racist reporting on victims of police violence, for example) while also juggling the liberatory and critical role that the press and media play in challenging authoritarianism, fascism, cultural hegemony, and injustice? I'm not suggesting that you don't focus on the idea of conflict/bias, but rather that there be at least an acknowledgement of some of the important legacies that various forms of media have offered up in the pursuit of justice and truth. What do you think?
Hi "Propaganda of Culture: Changing Perspectives team. First I am grateful for Alex's comment and I am hopeful that you will respond to the points that she has raised. Many journalists have actually been murdered while on assignment to cover conflict. I have a few thoughts and ideas: 1. Please rework your title as the current one does not identify a global issue or the global nor an art form. can you rethink the title to include both? Also if you use culture please consider replacing "Culture" which creates a feeling of "The" with "Cultures" - I think if you are going to focus mainly on the way media can be used by fascist forces to create conflict, you might want to also include examples of media that do not do that and that fight against that trend. Let me know if you would like to discuss further. Do you have a draft lesson plan? That might help in coming up with a new title. thanks for considering these thoughts. It's a great idea for a course and love the Tshirt and PSA Idea.
I might give a brief introduction of propaganda using posters from both world wars as well as its use in the USSR. You could ask students to analyze the message and the effectiveness of that message. In what ways does it present its propaganda? Visual(images, color), what words does it use, and how do those things represent the culture of the time period? I might then ask students to create a poster that gives a truthful message of that issue using the same methods.
Hey Everyone,
I am curious as to will there be an opportunity to explore the historical development of bias? Also, "culture" is so open to interpretation. Is there an opportunity to examine how one defines "culture" and how others have defined culture for them?
My apologies if this is not the direction of thought.
-T.
Alex, thank you for your comment. I agree that we should approach the discussion of the media's influences in a critical manner. I appreciate that perspective. Jasmine and I will discuss ways to incorporate and acknowledge this point of view. I think it's important.
Amy, thank you for your suggestions. Jasmine and I are currently working on ideas for an updated title. I do feel it is important to discuss the media in a critical manner and not just in a 1 dimensional fashion....I also think that our description may change a little and the influence of "media" will only be a small part of a bigger picture of implicit and explicit bias and how global and local issues are impacted. We do have a working lesson plan doc that Jasmine will post soon. Thank you for all the help.
Teresa, those are great ideas. We will probably take time to compare and contrast propaganda from different eras and discuss how they use language and imagery to get a particular message across. I like the idea off having the group create alternate posters with the true meaning.
T- Thanks for the comments. Yes we are going to take a big picture look at implicit and explicit bias and discuss the the history, effects of, and ways to confront those biases in ourselves and others. Culture is most definitely open to interpretation and will be discussed on a personal level with each individual in the group. I have an art lesson that will help the students to examine their own cultures and create a personal design that represents their culture.
thanks for your help
Hey, this is a nice lesson plan indeed! I think we all suffer from cultural biases no matter what. I have a quick question; how will you connect cultural biases with current immigration crisis that you mentioned in your lesson?
Hello friend! Jasmine and I plan to specifically discuss the presentation on Immigration to the masses through media and how the presentation of immigration changes the outlook of individuals. Thank you so much for asking. We may still need to adjust our description to relay that point.
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