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OVERVIEW
THE RESEARCH AIM OF THIS PROJECT WAS TO EXPLORE THE ORIGINS OF PROPAGANDA, ITS AGENDA AND

JERMANIE JONES
Design Studies
Capstone Research
Graduation Date
May 2013

EVOLUTION. THIS WAS ACHIEVED BY THREE COMPREHENSIVE OBJECTIVES. FIRST, PRECEDENT FROM
THE ANCIENT ERA TO THE POST-MODERN ERA WAS FOUND TO SUSTAIN A BASE OF KNOWLEDGE AND
UNDERSTANDING. SECONDLY, SEVERAL MEDIA FORMS WERE FOUND AND EXAMINED TO UNDERSTAND
HOW THEY ASSISTED PROPAGANDA AND ITS AGENDA. FINALLY, EXEMPLARS WERE LOCATED AND
EXPLORED FOR THEIR SUCCESS AND FAILURES. THEORIES WERE DISCOVERED TO EXPLAIN ACTIONS
TAKEN, AND TO LOCATE PATTERNS THAT COULD ASSIST IN PREDICTING FUTURE USES. IN ADDITION TO
THESE MAIN GOALS, THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CAMPAIGNS WERE EXAMINED TO PROVIDE EXAMPLES
OF SUCCESSFUL PROPAGANDA.

THE HIDDEN AGENDA:

PROPAGANDA
THE TREASURE CHEST

VOCABULARY

Propaganda is the term used to describe the action of persuading an audience that looks to control the

Perspective

perceptions of others. OShaughnessy states that Propaganda uses communication to convey a message, an idea, or an

Perception

ideology designed to serve the self-interests of the person or people doing the communicating (2004). Communication

Civilization

allows propaganda to be issued across several types of media including printed publications such as newspapers,

Hierarchy

music, radio, television, the internet, and the human voice. From Cave Paintings in Mesopotamia to millions of

World

Twitter Feeds, there have been millions of cases where human beings express their thoughts about particular subjects

Death

for acceptance and persuasion. Philip Taylor describes how Julius Caesar and Augustus were influenced by Greek

Rank

thinkers and philosophers such as Homer, Plato, and Aristotle. Taylor also mentions Thomas Cromwell and Napoleon

Humanity

Bonaparte. Cromwell was inspired by the 95 Thesis of Martin Luther and Napoleon strived to be more effective than

Modernism

Julius Caesar. (1990) Joseph Goebbels, the mastermind behind the Nazi propaganda campaign, was influenced and

Proportion

an employee of Adolf Hitler. (U.S. Holocaust Museum, 2006).

Repitition

Monarchy

War
History
Communication
Universals
Precedent
Society
Religion
Context
Loyalty
Global
Experience
Theory
Scale
Process

Throughout known history, mankind had used propaganda mainly for military and religious conflicts

Military

such as those which built the Roman Empire, consumed The Reformation, The English Civil Wars, and financed World

Identity

War I and supported World War II. Propaganda also became the main weapon of the Cold War, increasing its use and

Stability

shaping is future with negative connotations. This media device has shaped the world and the people in it. According

Ideals

to Marshall McLuhan, content distracts us from media effects and that we may not be as critical as we need to be about

Respect

the real message (Davis, 2012). Emphasis has been put upon the contents of propaganda that we can easily miss

Social

the effect it was intended to have. We are persuaded directly by the content and indirectly persuaded by the effects.

Progess

Therefore, the act of persuasion, its original goal has found a new way into the human mind.

Importance

Julius Caesar
4

Augustus

Beauty
Attitudes
Craft
Orientation
Humanity
Opinion
Natural

Thomas Cromwell
8

Joseph Goebbels

Figure 6: Levellers Pamphlet,

English Civil War, 1649

Figure 7: Young Boy listening to the

radio as a source of information. Circa
1950
Figure 8: Is This Tomorrow.1947.
Depicts America under Communism.
Seen as a hell-like atmosphere.

Napoleon

FURTHER STUDY
What theories influence todays communication that is
unknowingly used as propaganda?
What new theories explain the age of technological
propaganda?
1. PBS. PBSthisdayinhistory. Julius Caesar. 15 March 2013 [pbsthisdayinhistortumblr.com]
2. RomanEmperors. Augustus, 27 B.C. Augustus. 2008. [romanemperors.com/augustus.html]
3. Alamy. Taylor, Catherine. Bring Up The Bodies. The Telegraph. 17 May 2012.
4. Biography.com. Napoleon Biography. Napoleon. 2013. A&E Networks.
5. REX. Allan Hall. The Casanova of the Nazis. The Telegraph. Jan 2011

Figure 9: Superman.1968. USSR &

America are equally powerful and are
racing against each other to save the
world. In a sense they are alike, but are
different at the same time, especially
in economic and social terms.

What forms of mass media does propaganda travel and what

are they? What will be the future forms based on historical
patterns.
How is the general populations being propagated by
governments today?

6.The Leverllers Guild. The Levellers Manifesto. 1649. In Defence of Marxism. 27 Oct. 2009
7. Rhoads, Eric. Getting Re-Energized About Radio. INK TANK. 15 Oct. 2010
8. Catechetical Guild. cover of propaganda comic book Is this tomorrow. 1947. Conelrad Adjancent. 2012. [conelrad.blogspot.
com/2010/12/]
9. Cieslewicz, Roman. Superman. 1968. David Crowleys Posters of the Cold War. 2013.

1. Davis, Meredith. Graphic Design Theory: Graphic Design in Context. New York, New York: Thames & Hudson, 2012. Print.
2. OShaughnessy, Nicholas J. Politics and Propaganda: Weapons of Mass Seduction. Ann Arbor, MI: The University Of Michigan Press, 2004. Print.
3.Taylor, Philip M. Munitions of the Mind: A History of Propaganda from the Ancient World to the Present Day. Manchester And New York: Manchester University Press, 2003. Print.
4.United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Adolf Hitler: Early Years, 1889-1913. Holocaust Encyclopedia. http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007430. Accessed on 4/22/2013.