The author has built one of America's most distinguished careers among defenders of free speech and civil liberties. Cancel culture, presented in this essay, is not a new phenomenon. In this essay, the author marshals a wealth of survey data to show the scope and depth of the growing crisis: Americans feel more pressure to conceal their viewpoints…

Primary source material found in documentary film has the potential to richly inform college teaching. This article describes using 2 historically significant documentary-style films to teach concepts in the psychology of persuasion. Exemplary clips taken from "Triumph of the Will" (Riefenstahl, 1935) and "Fahrenheit 9/11" (Moore, 2004)…

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of "The Propaganda Game" in teaching selected persuasion techniques which may be used in the advertising of health products or services. The sample included 224 students in an introductory personal health course at Eastern Michigan University. The subjects were…

Outlines ideas for teaching an introductory course in propaganda, including an historical perspective and review of the etymology of the word and an examination of those characteristics that separate propaganda from other communication arts. (JMF)

The use of religious tracts in teaching a course in persuasive communication is described in this paper. Excerpts from a number of tracts are presented to show how religious tracts can be used in teaching about (1) persuasive messages that appeal to fear, (2) the question of ethics in persuasion, (3) appeals to concerns about physiological…

Outlines the need for preparing students to develop critical reading, listening, and viewing skills which will enable them to deal with commercial and political propaganda. (RB)

Outlines two assignments: (1) analyzing an article from the popular press for its use of slanting and propaganda devices; and (2) writing an article that incorporates various techniques of slanting and propagandizing. Includes two "slanted" articles about Walter Mondale's presidential campaign to use in this exercise. (MM)

Presents a list of possible lecture topics on propaganda in advertising and a list of the kinds of propaganda used, particularly in television advertising. (HTH)

Presents eight teachers' methods for helping students analyze political rhetoric in an election year. (ARH)

This study was devised to determine whether teaching a unit on propaganda analysis to sixth graders would improve their ability to detect propaganda devices in literature and the mass media. An experimental group of students participated in a four week unit on propaganda techniques while a control group completed reading comprehension exercises. A…

Since teachers have been encouraged to give attention to advertising, product advertising has been the subject of study, but because of the large amount of money spent on them, two other aspects of advertising need special attention: corporate-sponsored image (which deals with characteristics and image of the company rather than with products or…

Developing individuals who can think and read critically when confronted by the language of commercial and political persuaders is an important goal of reading instruction and of education in general. To make students capable of dealing with the omnipresent propaganda of the modern world, teachers themselves must have a functional concept of…