referencebooks (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} referencebooks) wrote,@ 2005-11-03 09:13:00 |
|
| Entry tags: | communication, media, propaganda |
The Encyclopedia of Propaganda
The Encyclopedia of Propaganda
Edited by Robert Cole.
Published by Sharpe Reference, 1998.
This is a three volume set running to a total of 961 pages including the bibliography, plus nineteen pages of preferatory material and a twenty-three page index. The books measure 8" by 9.5".
The "Publisher's Note" begins: "This three-volume Encyclopedia of Propaganda offers 510 alphabetically ordered essays that cover the historical, political, sociological, cultural, and artistic aspects of the phenomenon of propaganda." Included are articles on artistic and literary issues; on books, films, songs, and artworks; on business and economics; on education and language; on government; on health and medicine; on historical events and eras; on media and journalism; on nations; on organizations; on ethnic movements; on individuals; on religion; and on general concepts in propaganda.
Articles about individuals tend to be about propagandists, political figures who used some propaganda, and theorists of propaganda. Political and social issues are discussed in terms of how propaganda has been used to influence people's opinions about them. Those two kinds of articles make up most of the book.
The articles range in length from single paragraphs to about three pages. The longer articles are generally signed by the contributor, and the shorter ones not. Entries begin with a brief sentence in italics defining the word before going on to discuss its meaning. The prose is clear, and the authors make a concerted effort to approach their topics as objectively as they can. The articles contain much useful information, including both general background and information having to do with propaganda. In fact, simply in the course of browsing I found some references to authors on an obscure topic that I've been wanting to read up on for a while (19th century Jewish anti-Zionism).
For a better sense of what's included, here is the full list of entries in the "E" sequence (one of the briefer sequences):
- Economic propaganda
- Education as a propaganda rationale
- Education as a propaganda tool
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Ellul, Jacques
- Empire Marketing Board
- Equal Rights Amendment campaign
- Esperanto
- Espionage
- Ethics
- Ethiopia: Italian invasion
- Evangelists
I have to point out one major but very predictable flaw, and that is that commercial propaganda, today called advertising and public relations, is not given nearly the level of attention it warrants. There are entries for advertising, public relations, Edward Bernays, and a few other related topics, but these are few relative to amount of commercial propaganda to which we are constantly exposed. When the public relations industry was founded, the term "public relations" hadn't been invented yet, and practitioners called themselves propagandists, which is what they were and are. They themselves introduced and won acceptance for the term "public relations" after the word "propaganda" picked up a degree of negative connotation after World War II. That contemporary discussions of propaganda follow this linguistic change and mostly leave out public relations (and what I think this book should include are numerous discussions of specific PR firms, campaigns, and techniques) represents a massive victory for the industry. This is because it allows them to go about their work mostly invisibly, as our education in propaganda teaches us to be suspicious of political messages but not of the messages originating from PR firms, which are mostly perceived as entertainment and news.
That problem aside, it's a useful and informative resource.
