1. This book shows how writers affiliated with the French Communist Party helped shape Stalinist propaganda worldwide and it also sheds light on authoritarianism and cults of personality worldwide. 2. The topic is important to our understanding not only of the ways in which Communism functioned in France - the country which gave the world democracy - but also for a better understanding of the interaction between public intellectuals/cultural elites and political propaganda. 3. It provides context for current events, ...
Read More
1. This book shows how writers affiliated with the French Communist Party helped shape Stalinist propaganda worldwide and it also sheds light on authoritarianism and cults of personality worldwide. 2. The topic is important to our understanding not only of the ways in which Communism functioned in France - the country which gave the world democracy - but also for a better understanding of the interaction between public intellectuals/cultural elites and political propaganda. 3. It provides context for current events, including the resurgence of Stalinism in Russia and Putin's use of elements of the Stalin cult in Russia. It also explains the history of Leninist revolutionary terms that have been in recent use in the United States, especially "enemies of the people." 4. Author Andrew Sobanet is associate editor of the Journal of Contemporary French Civilization, is an editorial board member of the Contemporary French and Francophone Studies journal, and was until recently chair of the Department of French and Francophone Studies at Georgetown University.
Read Less
