Propaganda: Fakes and Facts Summer 2017 Session 3 Copenhagen Credits: 4 Major Disciplines: Communication, Journalism, Political Science Faculty Member: Program Director: Iben De Neergaard, idn@dis.dk Assistant Program Director: Nya Oxfeldt Jensen, noj@dis.dk Program Assistant: Jenny Han: yh@dis.dk Course Description: What is the difference between propaganda, bias and strategic communications? How do media, businesses and governments place themselves between the space of information, persuasion and manipulation? Ultimately, we ask, is there a truth out there at all? If there is, why do we have to speak it? We gather in Copenhagen for a month of in-depth discussions of news reporting, fake news, and standards in journalism and government communications. We visit newsrooms in leading Danish and European media houses and the filter bubbles of social media. We travel to Brussels, the European capital, and hear what decision makers and top European media professionals think about the latest developments in media and in government communications. We also take a tour in time into the history of propaganda and study its aims and methods. At the end of the course, we will have formulated a set of red lines, which we, as a group, agree that media and government communicators should not cross. In addition, we will have developed tools that can be useful to defend truth against disinformation - in media, social media and government communications. Background Hannah Arendt. The Origins of Totalitarianism Marcel H. Van Herpen. Putin's Propaganda Machine: Soft Power and Russian Foreign Policy Victor Klemperer. Language of the Third Reich: LTI: Lingua Tertii Imperii Arkady Ostrovsky. The Invention of Russia: From Gorbachev's Freedom to Putin's War Peter Pomerantsev. Nothing is True and Everything is Possible: Adventures in Modern Russia Course Faculty:
Approach to Teaching: This course relies heavily on in-class participation. Class time will be largely discussion-based, with some lecture and interactive activities. You should read all material prior to class and will be expected to actively participate in both all class discussions and group work. Some assignments will require independent fieldwork. Late work will be deducted a third of a grade point per day it is late. Expectations of the students: In order to pass the class, you must: 1. Read all material before the class. 2. Actively participate in discussions of your readings. 3. Be active participants in group work. Computers and phones are NOT allowed in class unless specifically agreed. Assignment Percentage of final grade Deadline Participation: 60 % Ongoing Participation includes: Active participation in class discussions (20%), simulation game (20%), study tour research, presentations and discussions (20%) Final paper: 20 % Brussels reflection paper, 20 % July 27-28 July 24 Media and Government Communications Simulation Game The course includes a special simulation game section, in which students work as policy officers, press officers and journalists. In the process, we learn about the relationship between media and government; the sources, the leaks, the narratives, the dos and don'ts of government communications and how media stick to critical reporting, finding themselves under political pressure.
Schedule of classes: Schedule is subject to change if necessary with as much notice as possible. Do all readings BEFORE CLASS unless the readings are in (parentheses). 1: July 3: Welcome, presentations and introduction to the syllabus A: Your syllabus 2: July 4: What is propaganda? And why do we have to speak the truth? Prepare by bringing examples of what you consider propaganda. We will discuss your examples in class. Hannah Arendt: "From an Interview" http://www.nybooks.com/articles/1978/10/26/hannah-arendtfrom-an-interview/ 3: July 5: Fact checking exercise Prepare by checking select media and social media sources for bias and disinformation 4: July 6: Modern case study 1: American "alternative facts" media We read and discuss select material from the current coverage of European affairs in American media that define themselves as alternatives to "main stream media" 5: July 7: Historical case study 1 Germany's in the 1930s and 1940s We discuss the use of images and film in Nazi Germany Arendt 6: July 10: Modern case study 2: (RT) Russia Today We watch and discuss broadcasts from Russia Today. Peter Pomerantsev & Michael Weiss. "The Menace of Unreality: How the Kremlin Weaponizes Information, Culture and Money" http://www.interpretermag.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/the_menace_of_unreality_final.pdf
7: July 11: Historical case study 2: Nazi Germany's linguistic propaganda We discuss newspapers and speeches from Nazi Germany. Klemperer (excerpts) 9: July 12: Modern case study 3: The Russian narrative and its way into European main stream media We identify and discuss the Russian narrative's way into international media. Van Herpen (excerpts) 8: July 13: Government and media What kind of relations should there be between governments and media? 9: July 14: Preparation for Study tour: Politicians, their communicators, the pundits and the journos in the Brussels Bubble Study tour to Brussels. The tour will aim at understanding the rules and the agendas in Europe's political capitals. What are the challenges the European Union is facing and how is communications used to support the EU's policies? We try to go behind the scenes and meet the people who define and change agendas, both in media, in think tanks and in the political institutions. 10: July 24: Public Service television in Denmark We visit DR Danish public service television and ask questions to journalists and editors about how they avoid, bias, fake news and what they do in order to avoid being instrumentalized by politicians. 11: July 25: Danish politicians and their voters We visit the Danish Parliament and meet the politicians and their communication advisors
12: July 26: Media and Government Communications Simulation Game I 13: July 27: Media and Government Communications Simulation Game II 14: July 28: Final discussion: The red lines. How not to become a propagandist and how to counter propaganda? Final paper due