In Upper Roberts, students have been working away learning about and analyzing propaganda from their lives and from the Protestant Reformation in IMPACT Propaganda: Past and Present, taught by Upper School history teacher Micah Duhaime.
Mr. Duhaime has taught several classes revolving around propaganda, bringing his most recent version to KO. “ This IMPACT class at KO is unique,” he said. “First of all, it’s an IMPACT class; it’s unique in being year-long, and it’s actually the fourth version of a propaganda class I’ve taught.” His inspiration to teach students about the complex idea of propaganda came from Mr. Duhaime’s personal interest in the subject. In his studies of political science and history in college, Mr. Duhaime gravitated toward mass politics and propaganda after seeing the variety of ideologies and perspectives.
Students began the year learning analysis techniques to identify and break down different propaganda pieces, a key skill in this course. “ Unit one is propaganda 101,” Mr. Duhaime said. “We gotta get our fundamentals to understand what propaganda is, and how to analyze it.”
He also reflected on how learning to identify propaganda is key, but can also be uncomfortable. “ Identifying and breaking down propaganda is a skill,” he continued, “and kind of an uncomfortable and unnatural one.” Using these skills, students completed their first project of propaganda analysis of pieces they encountered in their lives.
Propaganda: Past and Present covers the history of propaganda from the Egyptian pyramids to the present day. Since this course is project-based, no tests are given; rather, students analyze and even create propaganda of their own. After a study of propaganda and the printing press, students’ next project included creating propaganda pieces of their own. “ Students are in the art studio doing some printmaking in relation to the time period of the Protestant Reformation,” Mr. Duhaime said. “They are getting their hands dirty and making some sort of hypothetical historical propaganda.”
Another project focuses on marketing and will involve students with the Kingswood Oxford community. “Students will have to branch out and make a connection with our school community,” Mr. Duhaime said. “Whether a club or affinity group, they will help do some marketing to promote the brand of a community entity.” The culminating project of the year asks students to make a piece of “propaganda for good.” This will have them create a piece that advocates for a cause or spreads a message they are passionate about. “All the students become propagandists fighting for good,” he remarked.
Students will tackle the world’s ever-changing technology landscape that has contributed to modern-day propaganda, something students will look at later this year. “ We do our best to get up to the present and grapple with all of our new challenges like AI and algorithms,” Mr. Duhaime said.
IMPACT Propaganda has faculty visits to dive deeper into topics or their areas of expertise. “ The goal here is to really kind of push the interdisciplinary side of the class,” Mr. Duhaime reflected. “We can get deeper insight into top cool topics we already want to address.”
In unit two, the classes were recently visited by Middle School Latin teacher James Ishiguro and worked with Middle School art teacher Katherine Nicholson. Mr. Ishiguro joined the students to teach about propaganda in classical-era Rome. Following this, students learned about propaganda in the Protestant Reformation and dove into printmaking. To help create historically accurate propaganda from the period, Mrs. Nicholson guided students through sketches and used her printmaking expertise to teach students how to carve and print. While no other faculty visits are concrete, Mr. Duhaime is talking with a few more faculty members to teach.
Outside of analysis and recognizing propaganda, Mr. Duhaime hopes students learn skills from this course that will stay with them outside of the classroom. Both media literacy and skepticism are on this list, mainly understanding what the media we consume means before we either disagree or agree. “ Most importantly, empathy,” he explained. “What we’re constantly doing in propaganda is thinking about the different perspectives and goals of both propagandists and their audiences. I think it’s really important for us to develop the ability to put ourselves into other people’s shoes and understand where they’re coming from.”
IMPACT Propaganda is sure to leave its mark on students – from analysis to recognition in their lives, and maybe learning some fun skills along the way. As the school year progresses, keep an eye out for propaganda on the KO campus (for good of course)!
