When Propaganda Masquerades as History: The Case of the Soviet Union
Location
Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094
Presentation Type
Presentation
Start Date
18-9-2018 2:00 PM
Description
Years ago the historian J.H. Plumb reminded us that written history often serves to justify the authority of the state and establish social stability. The past, he writes, “has always been the handmaid of authority.” Nowhere does this appear truer than in the Soviet Union, where official Marxist ideology and propaganda about the greatness of the Soviet state, Communist Party, and leaders like Lenin and Stalin were woven into historical narratives, school curricula, and all areas of culture. This talk will explore the distortions and falsification of history in Soviet Russia, explain the social and political conditions that made it possible, and draw some lessons for our own approach to the past today.
Recommended Citation
Schafer, Daniel, "When Propaganda Masquerades as History: The Case of the Soviet Union" (2018). Humanities Symposium. 12.
https://repository.belmont.edu/humanities_symposium/2018/2018/12
When Propaganda Masquerades as History: The Case of the Soviet Union
Janet Ayers Academic Center, JAAC 4094
Years ago the historian J.H. Plumb reminded us that written history often serves to justify the authority of the state and establish social stability. The past, he writes, “has always been the handmaid of authority.” Nowhere does this appear truer than in the Soviet Union, where official Marxist ideology and propaganda about the greatness of the Soviet state, Communist Party, and leaders like Lenin and Stalin were woven into historical narratives, school curricula, and all areas of culture. This talk will explore the distortions and falsification of history in Soviet Russia, explain the social and political conditions that made it possible, and draw some lessons for our own approach to the past today.
Comments
Convocation Credit: Society and the Arts and Sciences