Preliminary Research

Along the way to defining my current research interest, I spent my first year in the School of International Service investigating America’s standing in the world and how a greater reliance on artistic and cultural endeavors might improve it. The passage below elucidates my thinking before I began to shift my focus away from the notion of government agency and towards the idea of the cultural producer as a more realistic mediator for social transformation.

Cultural diplomacy, “the exchange of ideas, information, art, and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples to foster mutual understanding” (Milton Cummings), represents a subset in the larger field of public diplomacy, “the task of communicating with overseas publics” (Mark Leonard). Despite its practical and theoretical value, the American government has yet to institutionalize a substantial arts and cultural program into its foreign policy. As a result, Hollywood, Madison Avenue, and interventionist government actions dominate America’s dialogue with the world, which merely perpetuates the negative stereotype of American society that is revealed in global public opinion polls.

As an American citizen, this deeply troubles me, not only because I personally feel misrepresented, but also because it fails to capture the true essence of what makes the United States so appealing to the international community. Fundamental American values, like equality and individual freedom, spurred the desire, innovation, and openness that led to its prosperity throughout the 20th and into the 21st century. These ideals must be consciously communicated to a global audience as a way to offset the divisive nature of images such as President Bush, Wal Mart, and Brittney Spears. The point of cultural diplomacy is not to replace or criticize these inherent characteristics of contemporary American society, but rather place them in a larger context that illustrates that there is more to the U.S. and its pubic.

The U.S. government must acknowledge the innate and powerful value of art and culture as a means, sought and enjoyed by humans since the beginning of time, by which we acquire a deeper understanding of others.