Technologies of Persuasion – New School Fall 2009
Technologies of Persuasion: Marketing, Politics, and Propaganda in a
Digital Age
Douglas Rushkoff – New School Fall 2009.
This seminar will explore influence techniques from print, graphics,
traditional media and social reality as they migrate to the interactive space.
We will first study the fundamentals of persuasion, influence, and coercion,
and then look at how they have been adapted for use in interactive contexts.
These will include email, the web, and cell phones, as well as integrated
marketing, "one-to-one" communication, viral media, hacktivism and
neuromarketing. We will study a broad range of applications, from simple
marketing through online trading, political campaigns, activism, and satire,
and discuss the relative ethics of using the same techniques for different
purposes.
Readings will include whole books and excerpts from among the following
texts:
Coercion and Media Virus by Rushkoff, Postman’s Technopoly, Cluetrain
Manifesto, and the CIA Interrogation Manual, as well as writings by Adorno,
Barbrook, Caldini, Barthes, Larry Lessig, Seth Godin, Malcolm Gladwell, MoveOn,
RtMark, and etoy, We will also watch the documentaries Century of the Self,
Merchants of Cool, The Persuaders, and the Politics of Fear.
Although students with all ranges of interests are welcome to take the
course, be forewarned: the seminar will be structured to allow for a highly
critical analysis of the role that marketing and influence techniques have
played in both online and offline society.
required :
Rushkoff, Douglas. Coercion: Why We Listen to What "They" Say.
1-57322-829
recommended :
Bernays, Edward. Propaganda. (intro by Miller) 0-9703125-9-8
Fogg, BJ. Persuasive Technology. 1-55860-643-2
Rushkoff, Douglas Media Virus. 0-345-39774-6
Metzger, Richard. Book of Lies. 0-9713942-7x
Howard, Martin. We Know What You Want. 1-932857-05-2
Postman, Neil. Technopoly.
DO:
1.
weekly assignments.
Each student will also be responsible for
leading or one week’s discussion.
2.
One 800-1000-word paper about or inspired by any of the following:
Merchants of
Cool (streaming online)
Technopoly
(Postman)
Influence
(Cialdini)
Cluetrain Manifesto
(online)
Century of
the Self, Parts 3 and 4.
This
paper must have a thesis; you are making a proposition, expressing an argument,
or reaching a conclusion.
3.
Field project, conducted in groups of 4 or 5 people:
Disseminate an idea, trend, belief or
fashion throughout the school and, if possible, beyond.
Come up with a way to prove your results.
Individually, write an 800-word evaluation of your process.
Technologies of Persuasion: by the week.
note: Most of the
movies will be able to be streamed online or viewed in the Fogelman library.
1. (9/3) Intro to course.
2. (9/10) Public Relations and Propaganda
Watch: Century of the Self, parts 1 and 2
- (DVD on reserve)
Reading: Propaganda by Bernays. Intro, Chapter 1, Chapter 11. (HANDOUT)
Do: Find one newspaper article that shows evidence of PR at work.
3. (9/17) Person to Person Persuasion.
Read: Coercion – first
half
Read (or at least browse): CIA
Interrogation Manual
Do: Tell us about: one live interaction/experience you had this month that you
feel qualifies as persuasion – from either side of the equation.
4. (9/24) Persuading Groups
Read: Coercion – second half
Do: Bring an example of coercive group, subscription, cult with which you have
come in contact.
5. (10/1) Marketing and Technology
Watch: Persuaders (dvd on reserve or
stream from
Read:
The Culture Industry (1944)
Read: Norbert
Weiner, handout. Read:
www.micropersuasion.com/2008/10/ethical-social.html Read and explore:
www.socialmedia.com/
6. (10/8) Captology: Persuasive Computers and the Web
Read: BJ Fogg – Persuasive Technology,
chapters 3 and 5 (HANDOUT)
Do: Find one website using persuasive tactics.
7. (10/15) NLP – hypnosis, pacing, and framing.
Read:
www.purenlp.com/nlpfaqr.htm - Steve Robbins essay:
and the first two lessons in Thom Hartmann’s NLP course at
http://www.thomhartmann.com/TH_NLPwk1.html
http://www.thomhartmann.com/TH_NLPwk2.html
and as many more weeks of this "course" as you’re interested in
after that. (Additional weeks are simply consecutive numbers after the letters
NLPwk_)
Do: Find (or perform) an application of NLP or NLP-like technique elsewhere.
8. (10/22) Total Immersion
Watch:
Power of Nightmares http://novakeo.com/?p=131
(and DVD on reserve)
Read: Ubiquity of
Advertising
Do: Turn in papers.
9. (10/29)Viral / guerilla
- the activist side
Read: Media Virus, Introduction and Chapter One. (HANDOUT)
Explore: Moveon.org, rtmark.com (watch the promo video), thing.net, etoy.com
Watch: info wars (dvd on reserve)
- the market side
Read article: Seth Godin at
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/37/ideavirus.html
Optional Material:
Read chapter one: Cluetrain Manifesto
Read Tipping Point , pages 3-14, 193-215 (HANDOUT)
Do: Progress reports on projects
10. (11/5)Hi-Tech, Wireless and Beyond
Read: BJ Fogg – Captology, chapter 8
(Wireless) (HANDOUT)
Read: We Know What You Want - Technology chapter (HANDOUT)
Do: Find a hi-tech coercive tool (or account of a tool) you think works.
11. (11/12) Sight
and Sound
Sound
Read: NeuroPop
White Paper
Read: Sonic
Weapons
Explore: Neural
Noise Synthesizer
Explore: Neuropop website
Review: Muzak section from Coercion
Listen: Overload – Sonic intoxicant – copy in E. R.
Sight-
Read (as best you can):
1. McQuarrie and Mick, Visual Rhetoric (
2. YouJae Yi, Direct and
Indirect Approaches to Advertising Persuasion (
Do: Bring in a print or web example of
visual/design intended to influence, and deconstruct the technique.
12. (11/19)
Deep Brain and the Future
Read:
MRI articles
Brain has a
Buy Button?
Science
of Shopping
using Neuromarketing
Rushkoff
of Neuromarketing
Explore: Mind Control: Technologies,
Techniques, and Politics website and read at least two of the articles
there.
Do: Progress reports on projects.
11/26 – no class.
Thanksgiving Break
13. (12/3) Magick
Read:
Book of Lies essays: Grant
Morrison, Mark Pesce, Hakim Bey (HANDOUTS)
Do: Tour of floor, online, or wherever field project techniques and progress
can be viewed.
14. (12/10) Final Discussion
Readings to be assigned based on topics raised by class over course of
semester.
15. (12/17) Final Reports
Groups – final presentations of results, in a fashion that persuades us that
you have persuaded others (or, if need be, that persuades us of the real
reasons you failed to).
Individuals – turn in final analysis.
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