Lasswell, Harold (1902–1978)

Harold Dwight Lasswell was an influential American social scientist who did pioneering work in political science and communication. His main achievements are the study of propaganda and the development of content analysis as a research method in communication.

Lasswell earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a doctoral degree in political science from the University on Chicago. During his career, he served as a faculty member for major U.S. universities, such as the University of Chicago, Yale University, City University of New York, Temple University, and Columbia University. He was part of the intellectual group of scholars known as the “Chicago School.” During the 1930s, Lasswell became one of the leaders of the Rockefeller Foundation Seminar on Mass Communication, where he made two important contributions to ...