Propaganda of the communist regime in Poland (1944-1989)

Lecture topics:

1. Framework. The system of propaganda and censorship.
2. The July Manifesto of July 22, 1944
3. „Recovered territories”. Panslavism – the 1940s
4. Stalinism. „Socialist realism”.
5. The First of May as a propaganda event.
6. Propaganda of March, 1968.
7. Catholic Church in propaganda.
8. „Propaganda of success” (1970s).
9. Democratic opposition and „Solidarity” in propaganda.
10. Propaganda of the Martial law and its aftermath.
11. The role of school in the propaganda system.
12. Propaganda in Poland and in other countries of the Soviet bloc.

Students are supposed to attend the classes and complete small tasks given during every class, as well as present a final paper.

The final paper should be an analysis of the chosen propaganda artifact from the communist Poland. The paper should be 3-5 pages long and include an introduction with the information on the artifact, historical context, hypothesis of the goal of the propagandist, analysis of the propaganda elements and their meaning, overall message carried by the artifact and a discussion of its effectiveness.

The papers should be submitted via e-mail.

It is recommended to discuss the choice of the artifact before April 1 (before starting writing) and to submit the draft of the final paper before May 1st. It will give you a chance to change the artifact and to correct the paper before the assessment. Papers submitted after May 1st will be regarded final.

Plagiarized papers will be disqualified with no option to re-submit the new version!