Contextual Modelling of "Propaganda", "Information" and "Upplysning" in Swedish Parliamentary Speeches, 1920–2019

• This paper explores the contexts of the keywords "propaganda", "information" and "upplysning" in the Swedish parliamentary debate protocols, from 1920 to 2019. The digitized protocols have recently been annotated with metadata for speakers’ gender and party affiliation. Based on perspectives developed within conceptual history, we have traced the concepts in the parliamentary debates and used computational methods to cluster the contexts in which they occur. Word windows around the three keywords were compiled into a subcorpus, and topic modelling was used to cluster the contexts. The findings show that the distribution of the topics gets more even over time, partly explained by the spread of the term "information" in various political areas in the mid-20th century. Furthermore, the only distinct topic shared between the three keywords relates to campaigns to limit and prevent the consumption of alcohol, narcotics and tobacco. While a conceptual shift takes place within this topic, from "upplysning" to "information", it is also shown that it was possible to discuss and frame these issues in terms of "propaganda" post-WWII – it even became more common to do so in the 1950s and 1960s.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap -- Medievetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications -- Media Studies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications (hsv//eng)

Keyword

propaganda

information

conceptual history

parliamentary debates

Sweden

media and communication studies

medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)