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Courses - Fall 2025
HIST
History Department Site
Open Seats as of
06/02/2025 at 08:30 PM
HIST338N
Special Topics in History; Disinformation, Power, and Resistance in the Twentieth Century
Credits: 3
Grad Meth: Reg, P-F, Aud
Explores the global history of disinformation as a strategic instrument of political, economic, and ideological control throughout the twentieth century. Long before the rise of digital media, governments, corporations, and media institutions deployed misinformation to shape public perception, suppress dissent, and manufacture consent. Through a series of comparative case studies, students will examine why certain disinformation campaigns proved effective while others failed, and how counter-narratives emerged to challenge dominant myths. Topics include wartime propaganda, Cold War psychological operations, corporate misinformation,and grassroots truth-telling movements. Students will critically analyze themechanisms that enable disinformation to flourish and the conditions under which truth can disrupt entrenched systems of distortion.