The conference last Thursday focused on some interesting concepts regarding cultural diplomacy. But, one thing kind of made me tick. The panelist came to the conclusion that the US does not value a nationally defined culture. So, when trying to promote cultural diplomacy (aka trying to get money from the US government) it becomes tricky. But here’s the thing, the US culture is this idea that we don’t have a defined culture. That’s a part of what makes ‘us’ us. We are a hodge podge, a mix of just about everything. US culture varies hugely based on region, and even within each region culture is completely dependent on the group. And that’s a part of what makes our culture amazing. I think that it’s great that we don’t have a Ministry of Culture. I mean, can you imagine what implications such a ministry would have? It would formalize our culture and inevitably discriminate against certain subcultures that make up our country. Formal culture stagnates forward motion. And frankly, the US does enough to export our ‘culture’ without government intervention.
I used to be a firm believer in multi-track diplomacy. But, now I’m starting to have second thoughts. Before you peg me for a crazy, I guess I’m just thinking that it might be better to keep the government’s dirty hands away from our culture. It has a bad track record for putting up a nice front and distorting the realities of US lifestyle. Such distortions of life in the US could have the opposite effect of the intention.
I also find it interesting that when discussing cultural diplomacy, in general the panelists only discussed western countries. This type of discriminatory angle to cultural diplomacy only makes me less of a fan. They would most likely argue that government programs, such as Peace Corps, operate as mechanisms of cultural diplomacy in the global south. I just find the argument for cultural diplomacy to be a matter of ego. We don’t need to prove to the world that our culture is amazing. It comes across as ‘censorship’ of the negative stereotype Americans have in the world.
What makes our culture unique is that there is no one forcing it on us! We, the people, make our culture and that is what makes us different and beautifully distinct from the rest of the world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Your blog raises a lot of great points that I generally agree with. I also think it's good that we don't have a Ministry of Culture. I think for our country, it would be somewhat of an impossiblity because of the makeup of our country. We are a hodge podge of culture and there is no way that we could define a single American culture without drastically excluding cultures within the country. A Ministry of Culture may work for Russia, but I don't think that it would work for American. Russia has tons of different ethnic and culture groups within its territory, but it also goes to great lengths to discriminate against them. For hundreds of years "ethnic" Russians have suppressed other cultural groups in advancement of their own culture. Russia is to some extent a hodge podge of ethnicities and cultures, but honestly when we all think of Russia, we don't think of the Tartars or ethnic groups from the Caucasus. No we think of the Western Slavic Russians with their fur hats, drinking vodka and doing the famous Russian dance. However, what image comes to mind about the typical American?
ReplyDeleteComment by Tallia Deljou
ReplyDeleteSam, during the conference last week, I, too, couldn't help but think to myself, "What kind of culture would we be spreading? Is there ONE unified and defined culture here in the US?" In thinking about the US, there are, in fact, many different cultures all mixed in together as one; as you put it, we are this "hodge podge," or mix, of many different cultures together. While it is true that no one forces our culture on us, I, however, do not think that other countries necessarily have their cultures forced on them either. The ways in which cultures become cultures are not always by force of the government in my opinion. But in the end, it does seem that here in the US we live within a hard-to-define culture, but one that is unique and different than those around the world.
I believe, as I touched upon in my post, that the fact that cultural issues are unbounded and altogether left alone by the government creates a cultural atmosphere in itself. Look at almost any patriotic slogan or advertisement, and you'll be almost sure to find the words "freedom" or "liberty" somewhere in there. We have, in a sense, reached a culture of freedom. It may be hard to define, and may be qualified in far different ways than, say, Mexican or Japanese culture, but it is there nonetheless.
ReplyDelete-Dylan parker