We invite you to participate in the conference “Visual Political Propaganda: Sources, Incarnations, Future”, organized by the Department of Political Theory and Political Thought at the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Warsaw, which will be dedicated to contemporary challenges related to political propaganda, with particular emphasis on its visual dimension. The event aims to reflect on the sources, forms, and future of propaganda, especially in the context of new media, disinformation, artificial intelligence, visual culture, populism, democracy, political engagement, and war and peace.
The program of the conference “Visual Political Propaganda: Sources, Incarnations, Future” includes three days of events, from 28 to 30 May 2026.
On the first day, participant registration, the opening of the conference, and the inaugural lecture by Marek J. Kaswan entitled “In the Post-Truth Era, What is Left of Politics?” will take place. This will be followed by two paper sessions devoted to, among other topics, visual propaganda, war, peace, emotional manipulation, social media, artificial intelligence, and political narratives. A critical debate on Palantir Technologies, security, surveillance, and civil rights will also be held on this day. The day will conclude with a conference dinner.
On the second day, a keynote lecture by Michael Haus entitled “Is Propaganda in Film a Bad Thing? A Critical Media Literacy Perspective” is scheduled. Further paper sessions will be held concerning, among other topics, exclusion, populism, the aesthetics of zoomer-fascism, the avant-garde, otherness in media, propaganda in Russian film, Chinese soft power, propaganda concerning Tibet, South Korea, and anti-communist propaganda in American comics. The program also includes an expert panel on Ignacy Daszyński, modern visual codes, and popular culture.
On the third day, the fifth paper session will take place, addressing the topics of hunger as image and weapon, ceremonies involving Zakopane highlanders during the time of Hans Frank, visual aspects of women’s protests, memes as tools of political struggle, and architecture as a medium of political propaganda. This will be followed by an educational walk through Warsaw entitled “Propaganda in Public Spaces in Warsaw”. Participants will see, among other sites, Dom bez Kantów, Piłsudski Square, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Monument to the Heroes of Warsaw, Castle Square, Sigismund’s Column, the W-Z Route, the vicinity of the Palace of Culture and Science, and Constitution Square.
We cordially invite you to participate in the conference!