Cold War Communications: U.S. Global Engagement in the "War of Words" 4219-RS247
This seminar seeks to increase awareness of the dangers of misinformation (or “information disorder”) as well as American efforts to fight with its own propaganda (or “information with a purpose”). Students will learn about the history of disinformation during the Cold War and discover ways that were employed to overcome it. The planned tasks encompass both theory and practice with many chances for student interactions with historical witnesses, with each other, with academics invited to participate. The goal is to train the future leaders to be ready to confront the present dangers by providing them with a sound historical context.
The classes consits of both the theoretical/historical context provided by the instructor (in class plus in the assigned readings), as well as practical part which includes a research project. Students will collect oral histories related to media content (Polish and foreign) since the end of World War II. Of particular interest are interviewees who listened to Western broadcasts during the Cold War. Comparative content analysis (Communist v. Western) is an alternative to conducting an interview.
Students will analyze, interpret and present results of their interviews; exchange practical experience related to collecting oral histories, present their findings, assess the relevance of the Cold War experience with disinformation to the challenges of today, discuss ways of making use of the material they accumulated with the scholars. Ideally, our work in this class will lead to a joint presentation of team findings which will then become our contribution to the Cold War Communications Project.
Type of course
proseminars
Learning outcomes
Knowledge.
Upon completing this course a student:
a) has an in-depth knowledge of American efforts to overcome the information blockade during the Cold War in social, political and cultural perspectives
b) at advanced level, stipulates various conditions, dynamics and evolution of American-Polish relations in the context of public diplomacy and propaganda
c) is aware of methods, mechanisms and processes formulating media messages during the Cold War
Skills:
Upon completing this course a student:
a) is able to interpret and explain the content of messages directed to Poland in relation to the American national interest
b) identify political content and asses the impact of U.S. policy on the receiving societes
c) research, analyze, evaluate and present a selected aspect of US impact in Poland
Social competences:
Upon completing this course a student:
a) understands the importance and follows the discourse related to the American-Polish relations
b) is aware of importance and role of American leadership of the "free world" in the 20th century
c) creatively approaches planning and undertaking research steps needed to complete the project on the American impact in Poland.
Assessment criteria
Attendance and active participation in class discussions - 30%
Research Project - 70% (There are 5 stages of project preparation. Each is awarded different number of points;
a) theoretical introduction - lectures + readings (short test follows 5%)
b) preparation for individual project (state of research - historical context, type of media, methodology for analysis) - 10% for research proposal
c) conducting interview or research of the media content - 20% for the oral report on research conducted - who? where? what? how?
d) analysis and interpretation of the data collected - 20 % - for 1 paragraph with conclusions resulting form research to be discussed in class
e) presentation of results in class - 15% - for the final PowerPoint (from 3 up to 5 slides) to be presented during the class
Practical placement
N/A
Bibliography
READINGS (selected chapters, or articles):
Gregory F. Domber, “The AFL-CIO, The Reagan Administration and Solidarnosc,” The Polish Review, Vol. Lll, No. 3, 2007:277-304.
A. Ross Johnson, Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty: The CIA Years and Beyond (Wilson Center, Stanford University Press, 2010).
A.Ross Johnson, R.Eugene Parta, Cold War Broadcasting. Impact on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. A Collection of Studies and Documents (Budapest-New York: CEU Press, 2010).
A.Ross Johnson, "To Monitor and be Monitored–Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty during the Cold War." History and Public Policy Program Occasional Paper (2017): 1-13. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/publication/happ_occassional_paper_to_monitor_and_be_monitored.pdf
Katalin Kadar Lynn (ed.), The Inauguration of Organized Political Warfare. Cold War Organizations sponsored by the National Committee for a Free Europe/Free Europe Committee (Saint Helena, CA: Helena History Press, 2013).
Friederike Kind-Kovács, “Voices, letters, and literature through the Iron Curtain: exiles and the (trans)mission of radio in the Cold War.” Cold War History 13 (2013): 193 - 219.
Jane Leftwich Curry (ed.), The black book of censorship (New York: Vintage Books, 1984).
Paweł Machcewicz, Poland’s War on Radio Free Europe, 1950-1989 (Stanford, California Stanford University Press Washington, D.C. Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2014)
Kenneth Osgood, Total Cold War. Eisenhower’s Secret Propaganda Battle at Home and Abroad (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2006)
Arch Puddington, Broadcasting Freedom. The Cold War Triumph of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2000).
R. Eugene Parta, Discovering the hidden listener: an assessment of Radio Liberty and western broadcasting to the USSR during the Cold War : a study based on audience research findings, 1970-1991 (Stanford, Calif: Hoover Institution Press, 2007).
R.Eugene Parta, "Audience research in extremis: Cold War broadcasting to the USSR." Participations 8.1 (2011): 104-131. https://www.participations.org/Volume%208/Issue%201/PDF/parta.pdf
Alfred A. Reisch, Hot Books in the Cold War. The CIA-Funded Secret Western Book Distribution Program Behind the Iron Curtain (Budapest-New York: CEU Press, 2013).
SOURCES;
Radia Wolności [Freedom Radios], The Best of RFE: https://www.polskieradio.pl/129,rfe [Broadcasts in Polish]; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty https://www.rferl.org/
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: