Arts and Minds
A Conference on Cultural Diplomacy
April 14-15, 2003
Columbia University

Presented by the National Arts Journalism Program, the Center for Arts and Culture, and Arts International, with support from The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation.

NEW! Three research papers distributed at the conference are now available in PDF format. Click on the title to download.

International Cultural Relations: A Multi-Country Comparison
by Margaret J. Wyszomirski, Ph.D., Ohio State University, with Christopher Burgess and Catherine Peila

Recent Trends in Department of State Support for Cultural Diplomacy: 1993-2002
by Juliet Antunes Sablosky, Ph.D., Georgetown University

Cultural Diplomacy and the United States Government: A Survey
by Milton C. Cummings, Jr., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University

Mounting concern about America's image abroad has focused new attention on the use of art and culture as a diplomatic tool. Reviving the official deployment of culture to boost receptivity to American values has been the subject of recent debate, with the chairman of the House Committee on International Relations asking, "How is it that the country that invented Hollywood and Madison Avenue has allowed such a destructive and parodied image of itself?"

Between 1993 and 2001 overall funding for U.S. government-sponsored cultural and educational programs abroad fell by over 33 percent. Although the United States has largely dismantled the apparatus of cultural diplomacy built up during the Cold War, September 11 and its aftermath have challenged the wisdom of that move. At a time when many in the international arena argue that diplomacy works best when backed by force, can culture help as well to correct misperceptions and to present a more nuanced image to critics of what is often deemed American-inspired globalization? Or are current commercial exports of U.S. culture an adequate representation of American society and its values?

ARTS & MINDS will explored culture diplomacy's history, viability and prospects. Prominent U.S. and foreign diplomats, policymakers, historians, artists, arts administrators and journalists discussed whether new arts programs might play a role in recasting the U.S. image, explored the efficacy of American cultural diplomacy during its Cold War heyday, and analyzed the intensive cultural diplomacy campaigns now being waged by foreign nations with a view towards drawing lessons for U.S. policy. Special attention was be paid to the outlook for U.S. cultural diplomatic initiatives in the Islamic world.

PANELS

  • America's Global Image: Short-Term Branding or Long-Term Exchange?

  • Cultural Diplomacy in Historical Perspective -From 19th Century World's Fairs to the Cold War

  • The Cultural Diplomacy of Other Nations

  • Can Cultural Diplomacy Improve America's Standing in the Islamic World?

  • Culture as a Tool of Statecraft: Case Studies

For more information, please visit http://najp.org/conferences/diplomacy/artsMinds.html or email najp@columbia.edu.