Job-rejection letters as bureaucratic propaganda

Abstract

In this paper, I analyze job-rejection letters received from departments of sociology, as instances of what Altheide and Johnson (1980) call “bureaucratic propaganda.” My purpose is to show that mundane documents can contain portrayals that legitimate the sending organization. In job-rejection letters, departments consistently are portrayed as meeting ideal norms of conduct: their members are rigorous, fair and nurturant, and they employ universalistic criteria. Rejected applicants are consistently portrayed as possessing superior job qualifications. All failures of departments to attain ideal standards are excused by reference to uncontrollable contingencies. I argue that the portrayals are rhetorical, and are independent of departmental action. Their existence in such mundane documents illustrates both the detailed efforts made to legitimate organizations, and the pervasiveness of bureaucratic propaganda in the society.