Resources for teaching about authoritarinism

This section offers scholarly foundations, practical tools, and activity guides for instructors teaching about authoritarian rhetoric, propaganda, and resistance through oral communication and critical pedagogy

I. Foundations: Authoritarianism, Education & Propaganda

Core readings for understanding how propaganda operates in education and how authoritarian regimes shape public discourse.

1. Propaganda’s Role in Authoritarian Education

   • Annual Review of Political Science (2024)
   • ➤ Explores how authoritarian regimes use propaganda for both persuasion and domination in educational spaces.
   • https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-polisci-041322-035951
     

2. Global Trends and Existential Threats

   • Comparative Education Review
   • ➤ Describes how rising authoritarianism worldwide threatens democratic education and critical inquiry.
   • https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/732119
     

3. Propaganda and Public Pedagogy

   • Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education
   • ➤ Conceptual overview linking propaganda and education as tools of public influence, especially in non-democratic regimes.
   • https://oxfordre.com/education/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264093-e-1405
     

4. Winning the Battle of Ideas: Authoritarian Narratives in Media & Education

   • National Endowment for Democracy
   • ➤ Analysis of how regimes embed propaganda into public discourse via media and schools.
   • https://www.ned.org/winning-the-battle-of-ideas-exposing-global-authoritarian-narratives-and-revitalizing-democratic-principles/

II. Critical Pedagogy & Resistance

How to teach against authoritarianism: theory, methods, and manifestos.

1. Educators and Critical Pedagogy: An Antidote to Authoritarianism

   • Canadian Dimension
   • ➤ Discusses how critical pedagogy counters repression by fostering dialogue and critical thinking.
   • https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/educators-and-critical-pedagogy-an-antidote-to-authoritarianism

2. Teaching Resistance

   • Maximum Rocknroll
   • ➤ Reviews a collection of classroom practices rooted in radical, anti-authoritarian traditions.
   • https://www.maximumrocknroll.com/book_review/teaching-resistance-radicals-revolutionaries-and-cultural-subversives-in-the-classroom/

3. A Manifesto for Anti-Fascist Education

   • MnArtists
   • ➤ Advocates for anti-fascist teaching practices through collective learning, arts, and solidarity.
   • https://mnartists.walkerart.org/pedagogy-and-propaganda-a-manifesto-for-anti-fascist-education

4. Educators and Critical Pedagogy (Development Education Review)

   • ➤ Reinforces the political role of teachers as facilitators of democratic, anti-authoritarian thought.
   • https://www.developmenteducationreview.com/issue/issue-36/educators-and-critical-pedagogy-antidote-authoritarianism

III. Fostering Dialogue & Democratic Classrooms

Methods for teaching sensitive topics, managing disagreement, and fostering inclusive communication.

1. Fostering Constructive Dialogue

   • CivicPlus
   • ➤ Guide to setting ground rules and managing inclusive discussions.
   • https://www.civicplus.com/blog/am/fostering-constructive-dialogue-across-social-divides

2. Deliberative Democracy and Dialogue

   • Journal of Deliberative Democracy
   • ➤ Encourages agonistic, reflective conversation as a practice of civic resistance.
   • https://delibdemjournal.org/article/id/579/

3. Psychology of Resistance

   • The Conversation
   • ➤ Analyzes psychological factors shaping citizens’ decisions to resist authoritarianism.
     
   • https://theconversation.com/would-you-join-the-resistance-if-stuck-in-an-authoritarian-regime-heres-the-psychology-252533

4. Let’s Talk Democracy: 5 Strategies

   • Blue State
   • ➤ Practical strategies for countering authoritarian speech with creativity and clarity.
   • https://www.bluestate.co/news/lets-talk-democracy-5-strategies-to-counter-authoritarian-speech/

5. Meeting the Challenges of Authoritarianism

   • Waging Nonviolence
   • ➤ Emphasizes honest speech, art, and humor as democratic communication tools.
   • https://wagingnonviolence.org/2024/11/how-we-can-meet-challenges-of-authoritarianism/

IV. Activities for Teaching Media Literacy & Propaganda Analysis

Classroom-ready exercises and toolkits for exploring manipulation, bias, and persuasion in public communication.

1. Political Cartoon Analysis

• • ReadWriteThink Lesson
  • Social Studies Blog
  • President Lincoln PDF
  • Landmark Cases Guide

2. Propaganda Workshops & Media Analysis

• • ViethConsulting Classroom File
  • ReadWriteThink Propaganda Techniques
  • USHMM Teaching Propaganda
  • Newseum Lesson: Disinformation Nation
  • CSU Fullerton Campaign Strategy

3. Critical Inquiry & Reflection

1. • CSU TILT Activities after Election
   • Cambridge Critical Thinking Book (Chapter)

4. News Framing & Source Comparison

• • UCLA Media Construction Guide
  • Ithaca College Lesson Plan
  • SLJ: Teaching Media Literacy in Election Years

5. Interactive & Creative Propaganda Projects

1. • JustAddStudents Propaganda Toolkit
   • Kapor Center: Propaganda Then & Now
   • Newseum: Weed Out Propaganda
   • iCivics Lesson Plan
   • SAUSD Sorting Cards
   • TAMU OER Propaganda Techniques
   • GoTeachGo Blog on Techniques

6. Pop Culture & Video Analysis

1. • Intrepid Museum Video Analysis Guide (Grades 8–12)

V. Syllabi and Relevant Readings

Atilla Hallsby, “The Symbol” in Reading Rhetorical Theory (University of Minnesota Libraries, 2022). [Open Access]

• AI Summary: In “The Symbol,” part of Reading Rhetorical Theory, Hallsby discusses how symbols are deployed in political rhetoric to reinforce authoritarian ideologies. He explores how symbols can be manipulated to foster a sense of national unity that supports authoritarian agendas. Through this analysis, Hallsby demonstrates the persuasive power of symbols in shaping public consciousness and political loyalty.

Atilla Hallsby, “Settler-Colonial Rhetorics” in Reading Rhetorical Theory (University of Minnesota Libraries, 2022). [Open Access]

• AI Summary: “Settler-Colonial Rhetorics” in Reading Rhetorical Theory investigates the rhetorical strategies used to justify and perpetuate settler-colonialism, which often intersects with authoritarian practices. Hallsby critiques how these rhetorics are employed to maintain control over indigenous populations and suppress dissent. By highlighting these strategies, he exposes the authoritarian underpinnings of settler-colonial discourse.

Atilla Hallsby, “The Rhetoric of Secrecy and Surveillance” in Reading Rhetorical Theory (University of Minnesota Libraries, 2022). [Open Access] 

• AI Summary: “The Rhetoric of Secrecy and Surveillance” in Reading Rhetorical Theory explores how secrecy and surveillance are utilized as authoritarian tools for controlling populations. Hallsby examines the ways in which surveillance is rhetorically justified to suppress freedom and maintain power. This work critically assesses the implications of these practices for democratic societies, revealing their authoritarian nature.

Atilla Hallsby, “The Rhetoric of Secrecy and Surveillance” in The UnTextbook of Rhetorical Theory. [Open Access] This contains a full 5000-level course that is the expanded version of the chapter above.

• AI Summary: In The UnTextbook of Rhetorical Theory, Hallsby’s expanded course on “The Rhetoric of Secrecy and Surveillance” further elaborates on the authoritarian dimensions of secrecy and surveillance. This work connects classical rhetorical theories to contemporary issues of state power and control. By doing so, Hallsby provides a comprehensive analysis of how these practices are employed to sustain authoritarian regimes.

Levina, Marina, Graduate Seminar on Authoritarianism and Totalitarianism Syllabus

• Summary: PhD level graduate seminar in critical cultural studies and communication. This graduate seminar will engage with theorizations of power in the age of authoritarianism. Given the proliferation of totalitarianism and authoritarianism in the United States and globally, it is essential that we understand how power functions in the age of authoritarianism and totalitarian thought. This seminar will offer a theoretical foundation to begin theorizing the current moment and to develop strategies of subversion, opposition, and resistance to authoritarian regimes. Through works of critical theorists –  as well as Indigenous and Postcolonial scholarship – we will study the nuances of power and discourse and examine how the authoritarian regimes construct powerful fictions that are then used as silencing mechanisms. We will pay a particular attention to what global struggle against authoritarianism and imperialism can teach us about the way we can form opposition movements in the United States.