Faculty Exploration Community Speaker Series: Propaganda or Persuasion: The Problem of Democracy

Why does the word "propaganda" have negative connotations that cause a listener to recoil, but the word "persuasion" does not? In this lecture, we will explore this question through two case studies: the ancient Greek philosopher Plato and the father of public relations, Edward Bernays. Although two thousand years apart, they both are concerned about the violent consequences of a democracy that devolves into mob rule. We will learn how each proposes to solve this democratic issue with propaganda, and why one is considered enlightened and the other malicious.