Undergraduate Course: Propaganda and Censorship in Democracies (PLIT10177)
Course Outline
| School | School of Social and Political Science |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course investigates what legitimate place there may be for propaganda and censorship in a democracy. As long-accepted liberal arguments in favour of freedom of expression come under pressure in an 'age of disinformation', is there a case for applying censorship to protect democracy? Or might a greater threat to democracy come from strategic attempts to fight disinformation, especially if these are perceived to involve propaganda? |
| Course description |
The course analyses the meanings of the terms propaganda and censorship as these are applied today; attention is also directed to assessing normative democratic arguments for free speech and against propaganda and censorship.
Students assess such arguments in relation to the study of specific cases of propaganda and/or censorship in relation to thematic fields which may include:
-whistleblowing and leaks: When should whistleblowing/leaking be protected or supported and when should it be punishable? When is whistleblowing/leaking beneficial to democracy and when harmful? [Indicative cases: Assange; Snowden; GCHQ Official Secrets]
-conspiracies and conspiracy theories When, if ever, are conspiracy theories harmful to democracy? When, if ever, should they be censored? [Indicative cases: JFK assassination; 9/11 theories; RussiaGate]
-epistemic authority and official stories: on what basis are epistemic authorities are identified? What kind of status do 'official stories' have. Who should be considered an epistemic authority and why? When is it rational to defer to an official story? [Indicative cases: intelligence re Iraq WMDs; contested OPCW reports; Covid lab leak theory.]
-disinformation and counter-disinformation: how is disinformation identified, by whom, and on what basis? What is involved in combatting it? Is there a risk that attempts to counter disinformation actually produce it? [Indicative cases: Election Integrity Partnership; Virality Project]
|
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least four courses in the area of social and political science at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). Only university/college level courses will be considered. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Mid-Term test (multiple choice and short responses) - 30%
Long Essay - 70% - max 270 words
|
| Feedback |
Students will be invited and encouraged to submit an essay plan for timely feedback ahead of writing up their long essay.
Feedback on all assessed work shall normally be returned within three weeks of submission. Where this is not possible, students shall be given clear expectations regarding the timing and methods of feedback. |
| No Exam Information |
|
| Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Mid-Term test (multiple choice and short responses) - 30%
Long Essay - 70% - max 270 words
|
| Feedback |
Students will be invited and encouraged to submit an essay plan for timely feedback ahead of writing up their long essay.
Feedback on all assessed work shall normally be returned within three weeks of submission. Where this is not possible, students shall be given clear expectations regarding the timing and methods of feedback. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- attain conceptual clarity about the meanings of the terms propaganda and censorship as these are applied today.
- make explicit and analyse the normative arguments used in defending or criticising the use of propaganda or censorship.
- understand how propaganda and censorship work in contemporary contexts, by investigating some key institutions, practices and agents involved.
- recognize competing conceptualisations of democracy.
- critically assess normative arguments about the legitimacy and limits of the use of propaganda and censorship in a democracy.
|
Reading List
Bernays, Edward, Propaganda (Horace Liveright 1928)
Herman, Edward and Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent (Random House 2002)
Macleod, Alan (ed), Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent (Routledge 2019)
Mill, John Stuart, On Liberty (various editions [1859])
Sunstein, Cass, Conspiracy Theories and Other Dangerous Ideas (Simon and Schuster 2014) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Analytic skills - the ability to discern the logical steps of arguments and to assess how evidence is appealed to in the drawing of conclusions; the ability to differentiate descriptive, explanatory and normative claims
Evaluative skills - the ability to assess normative arguments and the epistemological basis of descriptive claims
Skills of synthesis - the ability to apply analytical and evaluative skills in assessing reports relating to complex situations |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Tim Hayward
Tel: (0131 6)50 4238
Email: Tim.Hayward@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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