Outline page

CARLETON UNIVERSITY, DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
PHIL 2900, TRUTH AND PROPAGANDA

TERM: Fall/Winter, 2009-10
INSTRUCTOR: Randal Marlin
CLASS TIMES: Tues. & Thurs. 1:05-2:25 p.m.
OFFICE: 3A38 Paterson Hall
OFFICE HOURS: Tues. & Thurs. 2:30 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.
TELEPHONE: 520-2600-ext. 3797 (voice mail number)
E-MAIL: marlin@ncf.ca
WEB ADDRESS: http://www.carleton.ca/~rmarlin
Teaching Assistants:
Marc Legacy, mlegacy@connect.carleton.ca
Office hours: Wednesdays 10-12 noon.

Ali Ramezani, ali@ramezani.ca
Office hours: Wednesdays 9-10 a.m., 3A41 Paterson

Prerequisite: A course in Philosophy or Second-year standing.

Evaluation
There will be an essay worth 40% of the final mark. Details about this essay are provided below. One formally scheduled, three-hour examination worth 40% will be held during the December examination period, and there will be an in-class test March 23, worth 20%.

Required texts
Note: All the textbooks other than the Coursepack readings are available at New Octopus Books, 116 Third Avenue (just west of Bank St.).

Randal Marlin, Propaganda and The Ethics of Persuasion
Randal Marlin (ed.), Truth and Propaganda. Coursepack readings available only at Carleton University Bookstore.
Jacques Ellul, Propaganda
David Nyberg, The Varnished Truth

Highly recommended: Stephen J.A. Ward, The Invention of Journalism Ethics, George Lakoff, Don't Think of an Elephant!

Other reading materials will be on reserve in the main library, and on the Internet. It is most important that students be able to access the Net conveniently.

Course description
What is propaganda? We often hear this term used pejoratively as an accusation. But ambiguities make the nature of the charge unclear. This course aims at providing an understanding of techniques of persuasion, both ancient and modern, in the light of which propaganda as a phenomenon can best be understood. Students should get a heightened awareness of the many influences on their opinions and attitudes, not all of which would necessarily be termed “propaganda.” Misleading use of language and statistics, advertising imagery, political disinformation, press agentry, ideologically motivated funding of "think tanks," reporting and editorial biases, all make it difficult for the ordinary citizen to make sound democratic choices. Knowledge of the various persuasive techniques will, it is hoped, improve individual freedom and autonomy. The ethics of various forms of persuasion is examined. The question of social and legal controls over communication is also treated, in the context of, e.g., hate propaganda, media ownership, world information imbalance, censorship and curriculum materials in schools, etc. The problem of relativity of “truth” and the concept of bias and objectivity are recurring questions that receive attention.

Guide to the Essay
One essay, of about 3,000 words, will be required, due Thursday, February 11, 5 p.m. at the latest. Essays with their dossiers are usually too big to fit the drop-off box, but I will be in my office to receive them during the afternoon of the 11th. Late essays will not ordinarily be accepted.

In the essay the student should produce some sample of current propaganda and analyze it, giving reasons for viewing the material as propaganda, discussing its likely or intended impact on the recipient, and commenting on the ethics of using such a form of appeal. By "current" is meant anything subsequent to July 20, 2009.

Students should hand in, along with their essay, a dossier of the materials discussed (e.g. photocopies of news stories or commentaries, press releases, audiotapes, videotapes, downloaded materials from the Internet, etc.). It is very important to present these in an orderly, easly retrievable format. A large, at least 11"x14," scrapbook may be advisable if you are working with newspaper clippings.

Suggested Topics. New suggestions will be made from time to time as events unfold.

(1) If there's a Canadian federal election called before January this would make a good essay topic. Even if one is not called, there may be some obvious propaganda to create favourable opinion so that it would be worthwhile for a party or coalition to force an election.

(2) There's a huge battle for opinion in the U.S. as President Barack Obama tries to reform the medical system. Lots of material to analyse here.

(3) There are accounts of the U.S.-led attack on Iraq in 2003 that downplay those aspects that would lead to judging the intervention to be a failure. These or other accounts should be examined in the light of best evidence, as a way of determining where there is likely to be or (have been) propaganda. Events in both Iraq and Afghanistan are worth monitoring for propagandistic repercussions.

(4) The treatment of Mahar Arar was shown by Kerry Pither and the government Inquiry into his treatment to have important propagandistic ramifications. The case of Abousfian Abdelrazik also has led to questions about government actions. If similar cases arise, or there are new ramifications to the old cases, there is likely to be a good essay topic resulting.

(5) The issue of global warming and the fate of the Kyoto accords, which has become more central since George W. Bush’s presidency and Stephen Harper's prime ministership.

(6) Canadian federalism vs. Quebec separatism. Watch for different ways in which incidents, such as enforcement of Quebec's language law, get reported in media (French and English) with different commitments or sympathies. A sharp line between information and propaganda is not always easy to draw.

(7) With a federal minority government, propaganda should be in full swing whether or not an election is actually forced.

(8) There is a lively fight for public opinion in the matter of genetically engineered (GE) or modified foods or organisms (GM, GMO), dubbed "frankenfoods" by critics. Monsanto is a key player in this battle.

(9) The war concerning tobacco controls is always a worthy topic. The tobacco industry has sponsored the web site "mychoice" hoping to encourage pro-tobacco freedom blogging.

(10) The economic downturn has produced a lot of analysis and forecasting, and suggestions for government spending to alleviate the crisis. But not all of the suggestions are disinterested. Watch for sustained propaganda favouring certain vested interests, either in Canada or the United States.

Some topics, in addition to those mentioned, are regular sources for good essays. Watch in case any of these comes to the fore. These include abortion, animal rights, oil supplies and the likely "peak" date, nuclear power (with overlapping concerns about nuclear weaponry and arms sales), “political correctness,” ecological concerns, sports subsidies, gun control, and conflicts in Central America, Africa or elsewhere. The rights of various groups in society may come into conflict with business or other interests. These rights may be in connection with employer/employee relations, language, religion, or property; they may relate to women, aboriginal people, gays, particular age groups, etc. The rhetoric of deficit reduction, cost-cutting and job creation needs to be watched carefully for consistency. Violation of prime agricultural land might be supported in the name of job creation, yet jobs may be made to seem less important when government services are reduced in the name of cost-cutting and deficit reduction. When a particularly striking instance of alleged rights-violation captures press attention, various opposed interest groups tend to speak out in relation to the case, and a fertile field for propaganda analysis may develop. The topic of marijuana control would be good except that there is so much available on the internet that a higher than usual standard will be set for any such essays; the challenge will be to deal with something current and with some originality, and it may be better to choose a different topic than that of marijuana.

Some pointers on how to proceed can be found in Jowett & O'Donnell, Propaganda and Persuasion, Chapters 6 and 7, or in Eleanor MacLean, Between the Lines, p. 164.

More notes on the essay:
To repeat: By “current propaganda” is meant any propaganda appearing since July 20, 2009. Depending on the subject matter, it may be possible to get special permission to lift the restriction.

As a matter of departmental policy, students are required to keep a copy of their assignment, and if the paper is lost at any point the paper will be considered not to have been submitted unless a copy can be produced immediately on request. Where the dossier cannot easily be duplicated, at least have some record of what it contained.

Essays may not be faxed. Hand them in after class to me, or to the departmental office at 3A46 Paterson Hall (make sure you get a note saying when it was received and by whom). If the essay is mailed, it is the student's responsibility to see that it arrives by the due date.

It is sometimes possible to arrange to do an essay which does not quite fit the instructions provided, but this should be done only with prior written permission from the instructor.

Plagiarism
This is a serious offence. It involves submitting work of others as one's own, failing to give proper credit for the source of ideas presented. See the current Undergraduate Calendar, under "Instructional Offences," for the nature and scope of penalties for this offence.

Review Period
If a class is missed by the instructor during normal term time, the review period will be treated as a make-up class with full pertinence for the final examination. Otherwise, the review period time will be used for additional office consultation

Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities requiring academic accommodations in this course are encouraged to contact the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (500 University Centre) to complete the necessary forms. After registering with the Centre, make an appointment to meet with me in order to discuss your needs. Make sure you register before the deadlines.

For more information, contact: pmc@carleton.ca, or visit their web site at http://www.carleton.ca/pmc (Tel. 613-520-6608).

Writing Tutorial Service
This is free of charge for all Carleton students. Call 520-6632, or go to Room 215 Paterson Hall. Those who have difficulty writing essays should make use of this service. To visit their web site go to http://www.carleton.ca/wts.

Departmental and Carleton University Policies A full statement of these can be found appended to the printed version of this outline or at the departmental Web site at www.carleton.ca/philosophy. This information should be consulted.

Recommended additional reading
Edward Bernays, Propaganda (With Introduction by Mark Crispin Miller)
Noam Chomsky & Edward Herman, Manufacturing Consent. (Do not confuse with Mark Achbar, ed., Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, which is also good.)
John Collins & Ross Glover (eds.) Collateral Language
Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation
Todd Gitlin, ed. Conglomerates and the Media
Donald Gutstein, e.con: How the Internet Undermines Democracy
Robert Hackett et.al. The Missing News
Václav Havel, Living in Truth
Naomi Klein, No Logo
Phillip Knightley, The First Casualty
Eleanor MacLean, Between the Lines
John MacArthur, Second Front
Randal Marlin, (ed.) Propaganda and the Ethics of Rhetoric, Vol. 3 of Canadian Journal of Rhetorical Studies, 1993.
Robert M. McChesney, The Problem of the Media
" " et al., The Future of Media
Laura Penny, Your Call Is Important to Us: the Truth about Bullshit
John Prados, Hoodwinked
Riverbend, Baghdad Burning (Accessible also on the Internet. The author left Iraq about a year ago and her blog has had no new entries since then.)
Paul Rutherford, Endless Propaganda
Norman Soloman, Reese Erlich, Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You
Wayne Sumner, The Hateful and the Obscene

George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Collected Essays (especially "Boy's Weeklies," "Notes on Nationalism," and "Politics and the English Language").
Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, (1) Toxic Sludge Is Good for You, (2) Trust Us, We're Experts, and (3) Weapons of Mass Deception. The last-mentioned, published August 1, 2003, provides very useful documentation on deception in the build-up to Gulf War II, 2003. Go to PRWatch to see their more recent observations.

General Background References: (Don’t be frightened by the length of this list. You might just get interested in one or two of these.)
William Albig, Public Opinion (1939) and Modern Public Opinion (1956)
Valerie Alia, et. al., Deadlines & Diversity: Journalism Ethics in a Changing World (1996)
D.L. Altheide and J.M. Johnson, Bureaucratic Propaganda (1980)
Samm Baker, The Permissible Lie (1969)
Paul Berman, ed., Debating P.C.: The Controversy over Political Correctness... (1992)
Roger Bird, The End of News (1997)
Sharon Boder, Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism (1997)
D. Boorstin, The Image or What Happened to the American Dream (1961)
William Brennan, Dehumanizing the Vulnerable: When Word Games Take Lives (1995)
J.A.C. Brown, Techniques of Persuasion (1963)
Dr. Helen Caldicott, The New Nuclear Danger (2002)
Alex Carey, Taking the Risk Out of Democracy (1997)
Chapman, Simon, and Lupton, Deborah, The Fight for Public Health (1994)
Noam Chomsky, Necessary Illusions (1988 CBC Massey Lectures); Deterring Democracy (1991, 1992); Chronicles of Dissent (1992); Letters from Lexington (1993); Year 501, (1993)
Michael Clow, Stifling Debate: Canadian Newspapers and Nuclear Power (1993)
R.H.S. Crossman, Plato Today (1937)
Sara Diamond, Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right (1990)
Jacques Ellul, FLN Propaganda in France during the Algerian War (trans. R. Marlin)
Stuart Ewen, PR! A Social History of Spin (1996)
Government of Canada: Report of the Special Committee on Hate Propaganda in Canada, (1965)
William Greider, One World, Ready or Not (1997)
John Grierson, Eyes of Democracy (1990)
Robert Hackett and Yuezhi Zhao (1998) Sustaining Democracy?
Forsyth Hardy, Grierson on Documentary (1966)
David Halberstam, The Powers That Be (1979)
Sheila Harty, Hucksters in the Classroom (1979)
W.E. Hocking, Freedom of the Press (1947)
William Johnson, Anglophobie made in Québec (1991). Text is in French.
Karim H. Karim, Islamic Peril (2000)
Daniel Katz, et. al., Public Opinion and Propaganda (1954)
Thomas W. Keiser & Jacqueline L. Keiser, The Anatomy of Illusion (1987)
Robin Lakoff, Language and Woman's Place (1975)
Daniel Lerner, Sykewar (1971)
Lawrence Lessig, Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace (1999)
Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion (1922)
Josina M. Makau and Ronald C. Arnett: Communication Ethics in an Age of Diversity (1997)
Jerry Mander, Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television (1978)
Robert Martin & G. Stuart Adam, A Sourcebook of Canadian Media Law (1989)
Linda McQuaig, The Cult of Impotence
Kerry Pither, Dark Days (2008)
Terence Qualter, Propaganda and Psychological Warfare (1962)
Arthur Schlesinger, War and the American Presidency (2004)
Edward Silva, More Perishable than Lettuce or Tomatoes (1995)
Oliver Thomson Easily Led: A History of Propaganda (1999)
Brian Vickers, In Defence of Rhetoric (1989)
Douglas Walton, Media Argumentation (2007)
J.B. Whitton and A. Larson, Propaganda: Towards Disarmament in the War of Words (1964)

Among primary sources, Hitler's Mein Kampf, Goebbels' Diaries and Lenin's What Is to be Done? are important. Many government documents are pertinent: The Royal Commission on Newspapers Report (1981) and the CRTC Task Force on Sex-Role Stereotyping, Images of Women (1982) are two examples. Con-sumer and Corporate Affairs Canada gives some useful documentation: just type in “strategis Canada” into a search engine). Journals and magazines such as Le Monde Diplomatique, Ryerson Review of Journalism, Canadian Journal of Communication, Columbia Journalism Review, Global Media Journal ,The Nation, Adbusters, Z Magazine, Content (no longer published), Media Studies Journal,This Magazine, Cité Libre, Pollution Probe, Harper’s, Propaganda Review, and Alternative Press Review, give valuable critiques of the media. Also noteworthy is Extra! produced by F.A.I.R. (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, New York). An ideologically opposed counterpart is A.I.M. (for Accuracy in Media). Trade magazines can be useful: Public Relations Quarterly, e.g., or the Lobby Digest. There is some attention to media in The Hill Times. Community newspapers are sometimes worth contrasting with the major media. There are many other sources to investigate: newsletters by activist groups such as Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Project Ploughshares, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade, Non-Smokers’ Rights Association, etc. Most of these magazines, etc. can be contacted by typing their names into the Google search engine.

Other materials: It would be a good idea to get into the habit of reading more than one newspaper each day, especially newspapers from different ownership chains. Pay attention to how stories are "played," what the sources are, nuances in language, etc. Sometimes it is a good idea to follow one issue consistently, making clippings of pertinent articles and building a dossier. Films, television, posters, leaflets, etc., may also provide interesting material. Items of immediate interest will be noted from time to time during the lectures. Le Devoir often gives a point of view very different from mainstream English-language media. Many newspapers have web sites, so you can surf around for some really contrasting views. To gain access to a wealth of sites, click on the Links section of this site or just click here.

The Web, and Freenet: For help getting on-line, contact the Computing and Communications Services, Robertson Hall, Room 401 (520-3700) or e-mail ccs_help.

There is so much to explore on the Internet, in relation to propaganda, that it should be a significant feature of this course. My experience is that Google will get you to most places just by saying what you want: for example “Democracy, Propaganda and the Internet” brings up some very interesting Web-sites, each of which produces links to others, etc.

Some useful Web sites:
A list of these can be found by clicking on Links in the left hand panel at the top of this outline or the Home page. In addition to the few already mentioned, here are some to get started on. When words are separated, use a search engine. When they are in URL format, type in directly. Mostly you will need to follow the links provided by these sites; they are only a start. Newspapers and magazines are easy to find through search engines and are not listed, except some that are only on line. There is no particular order to the following, some of which are also listed on the Links page.

If any links don't pan out, please let me know so I can keep the list in useful working order. Treat this section as under constant "repair."
Straight Goods: <http://www.straightgoods.com>
Government press releases for Industry Canada can be reached at the Web-site of Strategis Canada:
<http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/oe01053e.html>. Look for links to lobbying control.
War Posters: <http://www.propagandaposters.us>
To see how the Internet is used by interested groups to persuade, see Citizens for Better Medicare:
<http://www.bettermedicare.org/who/> and their “Have you heard?” series. This series is at:
<http:www.busfromcanada.com/facts/>
The Fraser Institute (has a lot of right wing materials): <http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/>
Center for Media and Democracy:
<http:www.prwatch.org/links/index.html>
For Nazi archives: <http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ww2era.htm#Antisem>
For comment on the Internet, see
<http://www.beacham.com/mediadem.html>
Salon (Web Magazine): <http:www.salon.com/weekly>
Canoe News <http://www.canoe.ca/TechNews>
Center for Media and Democracy (has a huge list of recommended links)
GRIID (Stands for Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy). Go through search engine, or type: <http://www.grcmc.org/griid/bibliography.shtml>.
NewsWatch Canada: <http://newswatch.cprost.sfu.ca/studies>
Wired News: <http://www.wired.com/news/politics/story>
If you don’t have a computer or modem, you may gain access to computers and modems in the Carleton Library and in other libraries in Ottawa.

Films, videos etc.: Students are encouraged to see "Manufacturing Consent" and Robert Fisk’s Carleton University 1997 lecture, “Truth, Lies and Videotape: Reporting the Middle East" or his June 11, 2004 Convocation Address and lecture on "Weapons of Mass Destruction and 'Democracy'." Don't miss "Fahrenheit 9/11" (Michael Moore) and "The Corporation" (Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott & Joel Bakan). At least some of the following will be shown during the year, in or out of class time: "The Mind-Benders," "The War for Men’s Minds," "Red Nightmare," "Lobbying for Lives" (very important for showing an all-out propaganda battle), "I.F. Stone’s Weekly," "Killing Us Softly," "Grierson" (an account of the life of John Grierson, founder of the National Film Board), "Action: the October Crisis," "Outfoxed," and "The Hecklers."