We used slides 10-17 in this presentation .
Today we looked at one fake and a few real US propaganda videos. We also discussed rationing systems.
The purpose of the fake video was to explain how the stamp system worked to control rationing in the US and to show how a hardship such as rationing can be turned into propaganda that makes the viewer not only accept rationing systems but to proudly support them. The other videos were further examples of how hardships can be presented in such a manner as to be seen as patriotic and something for which we should embrace with pride.
We then started working on a propaganda assignment. Each student will create two pieces of propaganda. One will highlight the opportunities associated with a particular group of people in the United states and the second will address the hardships of the same group. The hardships one will be more challenging because the propaganda's purpose is to make the people who are dealing with the hardship to feel good about it and embrace with pride (not in a sarcastic way).
The steps are outlined in the slides, but the critical portion of this assignment is the paired discussions. Each person will read an additional section and then engage the student assigned that section in discussion about the content and how it can be presented in propaganda. Skipping or only addressing this step in a superficial manner will cause us to miss an opportunity to check that our ideas and possibly get better ideas through the peer or inspired by the peer. For those who focus on the end rather than the process, skipping this step will produce less than ideal results.
