Bruce Gregory’s interesting keynote at the George Washington University’s Global Engagement event a few weeks ago triggered an interesting response by the esteemed Amb. William Rugh, a professor of Public Diplomacy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University (and renowned for, among other things, very important scholarly work on Arab media). Bruce Gregory graciously shared this email response, and his own rejoinder to Rugh, so that others in the blogosphere could weigh in.
Archive for October, 2009
Public Diplomacy debates reflect bigger IR questions
October 28th, 2009 | by Craig Hayden | published in Public Diplomacy & Strategic Communication
For PD’s sake: seriously, let’s not do this again.
October 28th, 2009 | by Craig Hayden | published in Public Diplomacy & Strategic Communication
As a student of rhetoric and argument studies (among other things), I am inclined to believe that controversy is a good thing. It reveals important fault-lines in public discourse, and may prove to be a productive resource for shaping and intervening in the public understanding of subjects under contention.
Not all public argument can be enlightening or productive. Case in point, the bemusing little dust up over on John Brown’s Notes and Essay’s Blog, where angry students at USC took issue with Brown’s insinuation about what constitutes a “serious” university, and the pretense of USC students of public diplomacy to organize themselves as the Association of Public Diplomacy Scholars.
Here is my response to the episode:
We regret to inform you we don’t know what we’re doing.
October 18th, 2009 | by Craig Hayden | published in Public Diplomacy & Strategic Communication
It’s now been many many days since the event at George Washington University, New Approaches to U.S. Global Outreach: Smart Power on the Front Lines of Public Diplomacy. The event, put on by the Institute for Public diplomacy and Global Communication, was interesting and frustrating at the same time. I had planned to blog about it earlier, and I am doing so now with the alacrity of a 19th century conversation by post. At any rate, here is my two cents… to no one’s surprise, the panelists reiterated the most pressing need: leadership. And right now, the opportunities for public diplomacy to capitalize on the energy of the Obama presidency are swirling in the bowl, so to speak.