Reputation, propaganda, and hegemony in assyriology studies: a gramscian view of public relations historiography

Abstract

The aim of this article is to revisit the robust interest in the history of public relations, including its role on behalf of organizations and communities. Energy for that effort is being generated by recent discussions of propaganda and reputation in Assyriology. Major archeological findings of the 2nd half of the twentieth century revealed texts explicating a system of public communication, the purpose of which was to legitimize the power of monarchs in the ancient Near East. Founded on written (royal inscriptions) and iconographic materials and influenced by the historical materialism predominant in historiography when Assyriology was at its height, Assyriologists have approached the study of Mesopotamian state ideology via an essentially communicative dimension where the search for legitimacy and hegemony is articulated through communication in the form of impression and reputation management. To that end, Gramsci's state theory, in particular his conception of historical blocs—dominant configurations of material capabilities, ideologies and institutions as determining frames for individual and collective action—are deemed useful for a critical view of public relations historiography.