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Analyzing propaganda as a historical source : A case study of "Ten years of Italian progress" / author, Sarah Shurts (Bergen Community College, USA).
- Format:
- Website/Database
- Author/Creator:
- Shurts, Sarah, 1976- author.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Research.
- Methodology.
- Genre:
- Case studies.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource
- Place of Publication:
- Marlborough, Wiltshire : Adam Matthew Digital, 2021.
- Summary:
- This case study will explore the Fascist brochure "Ten Years of Italian Progress" to better understand how propaganda can be used as a historical source. Any kind of historical source can be a form of propaganda if it conveys a message intended to affect public opinion. The task for historians wishing to use propaganda as a source is to understand the message, in both stated text and unstated subtext, in the context of its time and place. Knowing the historical context can help historians better identify the author, intended audience, approach, and argument of a piece of propaganda. And understanding these factors can help historians better understand the purpose of the propaganda and provide them with added insight into the time period in which it was created. There are limitations to the use of propaganda as a source, however. Some propaganda can provide reliable information when confirmed with additional sources, but others can distort or dissimulate or completely fabricate facts. Further limitations to using propaganda as a source arise because we cannot assume that the public received the message in the way that the propagandist intended nor can we assume that this message altered public opinion instead of reaffirming pre-existing attitudes. However, despite these limitations, propaganda can be a useful source material for historians seeking greater insight into a complex past.
- Notes:
- Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on August 17, 2022).
- Publisher Number:
- 10.47594/RMPS_0191
- Access Restriction:
- Restricted for use by site license.
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