The Public and Cultural Diplomacy Forum

The Public and Cultural Diplomacy Forum
Events
Faculty Partners
Student Leadership
Public Diplomacy Courses

PCDF

Events

Meet our Faculty

Meet our Students

Public Diplomacy Courses

About the Public and Cultural Diplomacy Forum

The Public and Cultural Diplomacy Forum provides a venue for the discussion of issues related to public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, and the increasing centrality of new media technologies to novel forms of collaborative diplomacy. The PCDF features events and publications on issues that draw from the interests of faculty, students, and conversations in related fields of study - including diplomacy studies, culture and media studies, international communication, and foreign policy analysis. As a forum, the PCDI draws attention to salient topics related to research and practice and provides an opportunity for scholars and practitioners to share their experience and their research work with both students and a broader community.

The Public and Cultural Diplomacy forum hosts a series of activities, including:

1. Public Diplomacy Discussion Series. This event series features prominent practitioners, leaders, and faculty on subjects related to the PCDF. These events have included attention to careers in public diplomacy, nation branding, social media and statecraft, etc.

2. Research Colloquia Series on Public Diplomacy and related issues. These events provide venues for academic work on topics pertinent to the PCDF’s mission. The series features presentations from faculty, doctoral students, and visiting scholars.

3. Online publications. The PCDF produces joint efforts by students and faculty to facilitate discussion about public diplomacy, culture, and technology. Part of this effort includes the publication of blogs and twitter posts produced by faculty (including Rhonda Zaharna’s “battles2bridges” blog and Craig Hayden’s “International Media Argument Project” blog. The PCDF student blog, The Diplomatist, and twitter account, The Diplomatist, features student perspectives, periodic issue essays, and news roundups.

In sum, the PCDF offers a venue for research and practice-based presentations that draw from the scholarly community and the range of practitioners present in the Washington DC area, provides an opportunity for MA students to share their insights and research with both their peers and the broader public diplomacy community, and promotes innovative research and practical insights about public diplomacy, strategic communication, and so-called “21st century statecraft” initiatives.

The PCDF accomplishes its mission through facilitating and contributing to international networks of related scholarship, and brings together faculty from across American University and the School of International Service to facilitate collaborative research and teaching interests. Working with external partners such as Intermedia, and other research centers on public diplomacy, the PCDF joins the growing conversation among universities and governments about the significance of public diplomacy for careers, scholarship, and the practice of public statecraft.