CfA: Special issue on Media Literacy, Mis/Disinformation Research, and the Institute for Propaganda Analysis
Journalism History - Call for Abstracts
Special issue on Media Literacy, Mis/Disinformation Research, and the Institute for Propaganda Analysis
To be guest edited by Anya Schiffrin, Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs & Efrat Nechushtai, George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs
Contact: Anya Schiffrin acs76@columbia.edu
Background
In 1937, a small group of scholars and philanthropists founded the Institute for Propaganda Analysis at the Columbia Teachers College, to combat what they saw as the grave threat to American democracy posed by propaganda. The institute was in large part the creation of former journalist Clyde Miller, who believed that education could be mobilized to immunize the American public against the effects of propaganda through education and media literacy training.
From 1937 to 1942, the IPA mounted a campaign to educate the American public (and students) on dishonest techniques used in rhetoric and became involved in the movement to develop anti-racist curricula for use in schools. Their projects met with fierce backlash from conservatives in government, the right-wing media, and within Columbia Teachers College, and the initiative lost funding and disbanded in 1942, with Clyde Miller placed on indefinite leave at Columbia and eventually losing his job in 1948.
After the first US presidential election of Donald Trump and the Brexit referendum in Great Britain in 2016, the subject of mis- and dis-information in the media returned with force to public and academic discourse. Scholars continue to debate how to measure media persuasion and the best way to combat mis/disinformation. These terms, and efforts to research them, are again under attack – as are efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools and workplaces.
The IPA’s trajectory provides a unique opportunity to examine historical parallels to these present-day developments and debates. We are particularly interested in exploring the history and political economy of media literacy efforts in different countries, comparative media perspectives on anti-racist education efforts, other examples of backlash against scholars and educators in these areas, and historical understandings of truth and manipulation in media and journalism.
We welcome manuscripts that examine topics including, but not limited to:
- New scholarship about Clyde Miller, the IPA, and the scholars involved, including their investigation by the Dies committee and criticism from right-wing media
- Historical case studies of the IPA’s impact on media literacy
- Other historical examples of efforts to promote or critique media literacy efforts
- The current backlash against mis/disinformation researchers and parallels with the past
- Intellectual history of the concepts of truth, manipulation or propaganda in media, news or journalism
- Other historical examples of mediated discourse around anti-racist education in the U.S. or other nations, and/or backlash against these efforts
- Past efforts to promote media literacy in different countries with a view to today
- The relationship between propaganda research and anti-racist education
Interested researchers should submit a CV, a 500-word abstract outlining the purpose and methods of their study, plus a list of key anticipated primary and secondary sources, by May 1, 2025. Submissions should be emailed to acs76@columbia.edu.
Authors of the most promising abstracts will be invited to submit full papers for peer review, with a full-paper submission deadline of September 1, 2025.
Note: Journalism History offers a format-free submission process. Articles accepted for publication will need to conform to the Chicago Manual of Style (18th edition) with endnote references.