Conference: “Visual Political Propaganda: Sources, Incarnations, Future”

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, University of Warsaw. The conference will focus on 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” spans three days, from May 28 to 30, 2026.

On the first day, there will be participant registration, the conference opening, and an inaugural lecture by Mark J. Kaswan titled “In the Post-Truth Era, What is Left of Politics?”. This will be followed by two panel sessions devoted to topics including visual propaganda, war, peace, emotional manipulation, social media, artificial intelligence, and political narratives. A critical debate on Palantir Technologies, security, surveillance, and civil liberties will also take place that day. The day will conclude with a conference dinner.

On the second day, Michael Haus will deliver a keynote lecture titled “Is Propaganda in Film a Bad Thing? A Critical Media Literacy Perspective.” There will be additional panel sessions on topics including exclusion, populism, the aesthetics of zoomer-fascism, the avant-garde, otherness in the media, propaganda in Russian cinema, Chinese soft power, propaganda regarding Tibet and South Korea, and anti-communist propaganda in American comic books. The program also includes an expert panel on Ignacy Daszyński, modern visual codes, and pop culture.

On the third day, the fifth paper session will take place, addressing topics such as hunger as an image and a weapon, ceremonies involving Zakopane highlanders during the time of Hans Frank, the 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 walking tour of Warsaw titled “Propaganda in Public Spaces in Warsaw.” Participants will see, among other sites, the House Without Corners, 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 area around the Palace of Culture and Science, and Constitution Square.

We would like to invite you to participate in the conference!