International Cultural Exchange

The paper presents some new materials regarding the life of Eleonora Zernitz, nèe Deeling, the addressee of CPE  Bach's Sonates from 1779. The research is not finished, as in its course many other questions and doubts were raised. Thus the research remains "work in progress" and shall be edited and modified if any other primary sources come to light.

The article presents the life and cultural activities of three generations of Moscow merchants and bankers Zenkers, natives of Waltersdorf/Valteřice (district Česká Lípa) in the north of Bohemia (The Czech Republic). The article reveals their contribution to the cultural exchange between Bohemia and Russia during the 19th century, clarifies their role in the foundation and development of the Valteřice school, which was considered one of the best in Bohemia. In addition, the article brings to the light the portraits of several members of Zenker family, which were found in Russian art collections, identified and attributed.

An institutional ethnography situated in the Victoria and Albert Museum, this paper explores cultural diplomacy and the nature of international exchange that takes place within two key arenas of the museum’s international remit: international loans and touring exhibitions. Firstly, exploring the intersection of belief and the quotidian of museum business-as-usual, it highlights a number of important tensions that exist between universalist ideologies and authorised heritage practice. From there, focus shifts to international loans, where the outcomes of pragmatic processes are unpacked to reveal the complex and asymmetrical nature of cultural access. Building on these findings, in the final chapter, international touring exhibitions are put to the test as vehicles for meaningful, dialogic exchange through a close study of the reception, modification and impact of the exhibition Disobedient Objects. By grounding the study in the materiality of practical encounters this paper unveils and unpacks a number of truisms of museum work, which include: the relationship between national museums and government bodies, the yield of cosmopolitan goals like universal access and, the capacity of the museum to effect positive change on both individual and society.

The paper analyses the lofe and work of two British engravers of  German origin, Johann Gottlieb and Georg Sigmund Facius, who established themselves  in London in the 1770s. Today, engravings by brothers Facius can be found at many collections, public and private, both in England and abroad.
However, little  is known about the artists themselves. Almost all present information about the artists is based on early Dictionaries by Nagler, Bryan and Redgrave, and virtually nothing is known in England about their life circumstances, relations and characters.
But recently some new materials came to light. Among them – the church records of Facius-father’s marriage and birth/baptising records of his children, small part of family correspondence and most important – the Curriculum Vitae of both Johann Gottlieb and Georg Sigmund written by the first in 1790. In summary, all these documents enrich significantly our knowledge about the artists, bring to the light their until unknown brother Septimus and his activity in England, and generally correct some dramatic errors which have been continually repeated on the span of two centuries.

The 2019 Comprehensive Annual Report on Public Diplomacy and International Broadcasting, published each year by the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy (ACPD) per its congressional mandate, assesses the major Public Diplomacy (PD) and global media activities conducted by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM). Based on data collected from the State Department’s Public Diplomacy bureaus and offices, the Public Affairs Sections at U.S. embassies worldwide, and the USAGM, the report serves as a unique reference document, highlighting public diplomacy strategies and resources used to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives. The report also serves as a platform for innovation, assuring that USG public diplomacy initiatives remain effective in an increasingly competitive global information environment.
https://www.state.gov/2019-comprehensive-annual-report-on-public-diplomacy-and-international-broadcasting/

As Director of the Centre of American Studies of the University of Hong Kong, 1995-2016. In this capacity I raised approximately US$1,240,000 in research grants from the Starr and Ford Foundations and the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia to provide research fellowships and scholarships to bring to HK mainland Chinese scholars and students in various areas of American studies. Approximately 120 mainland scholars and students spent extended periods of time, from two months to one year, at HKU under these programmes, 1995-2010. These activities were a significant factor in helping to develop American Studies in mainland China. The University of Hong Kong lacked the interest to continue these programmes, so they have been terminated, as, I believe, has the Centre of American Studies.

This presentation provides an overview of the findings from a 2008-2009 Survey of 134 U.S. based organizations participating in international cultural exchange and international programming. Originally published by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation as part of its Initiative on International Cultural Exchange. Presentation shared at Grantmakers in the Arts in 2009.

Доклад был представлен на научно-практической конференции «Нащокинский домик: традиции создания комплексов миниатюрных предметов» во Всероссийском музее А.С.Пушкина в декабре 2016 года.
В статье анализируется история создания и состав коллекции кукол, принадлежавшей Дейзи Сент-Клер Мандер (1887-1968), представительнице известной семье предпринимателей в г.Вуверхамптоне (Великобритания).

China's modern process is a rapid and changing progress in contradiction, conflict, integration and development. Modern architectural history fully reflects the conflict and interaction between Chinese and Western construction technology and cultural cognition in the changing times. As the pioneer in China, the construction experiments of missionaries in China changes from unidirectional output to the mode of integrating Chinese architectural tradition and western construction techniques.
University of Nanking retains rich historical information in its well-preserved historical buildings. Chinese roofs were once been regarded as the complete representation of Chinese architecture by westerners due to the limited cognition. The buildings in University of Nanking imitated just the exterior style of Chinese large roofs, while the interior roof structure used western modern structures. This dissertation first discusses the paradigm of traditional Chinese architecture, and then compares it with the roof practices of University of Nanking. By study of the historical drawings and old photographs of the historical buildings in University of Nanking, combining with the work of on-site surveying and three-dimensional modeling, reveals the misreading of Chinese traditional architecture by the Western architects.
Based on the study of historical documents, this dissertation reveals the design background and construction organization of Western architects. And then analyzes the cognitive sources and design references of Chinese architecture, trying to reveal the reasons for the misunderstanding. Among them, the design mode of operation and the process of construction are especially concerned. In fact, through the introduction of new materials and techniques, Western architects have promoted the development of modern Chinese architecture in the technical level through the interaction with Chinese craftsmen. This paper reveals the problems of construction level, cognition, materials and other aspects reflected by architectural technology.
How did modern China establish a modern nation with new identity on the basis of its long history and culture? The roof design in University of Nanking shows how cultural cognition and techniques influence each other, which also has great significance to today’s architectural practices.
The whole thesis contains about 42657 words, 108 pictures and charts.

There is broad recognition that the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program is an important project undertaken by the Government of Japan.1  Such assertions are based on raw numbers of participants, diplomatic and academic intuition, and collected anecdotes. There is, however, no publicly available research considering the JET Program as a public diplomacy endeavor evaluating what effects former participants attribute to the JET Program. This study presents a theory- and data-driven foundation on which to stake claims about JET as a public diplomacy program. Introducing original survey data collected by the author in 2011, this study evaluates the responses of more than 500 American JET Program alumni and begins shedding light on the value of JET as a long-term, government-sponsored, public diplomacy program.

The Franco-Italian "Revue des Nations Latines" (1916-1919) was a periodical oriented toward the pan-nationalistic ideology of “Latinity”, which consisted of promoting the idea of uniting all “Latin” peoples : French, Italians, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanians, etc. Strongly developed in France after the defeat of 1870, in a political and cultural context marked by anti-Germanism, pan-Latinity was mobilized in the rivalry with Germany over the political, economic and cultural hegemony in Europe. Italy was a major stake in this rivalry. Marked in that period by German influence, it seemed to be naturally disposed to a rapprochement with France on the basis of pan-Latin ideology. For that purpose, France launched a massive pan-Latin propaganda campaign in the peninsula which organ, during the Great War, defended Franco-Italian collaboration and presented the world conflict in terms of a cultural and racial struggle between “Latins” and “Germans”. Nevertheless, the fragility of the “Latin” alliance was revealed when disagreements appeared between France and Italy over the territorial reconfiguration of Central Europe. Provoking a wave of Francophobia in Italy, these tensions condemned the "Revue des Nations Latines" to annihilation.

This report, commissioned by the John Brademas Center of New York University, seeks to provide a broad picture of private sector funding and foundation activity in support of international artistic and cultural exchange. As a potential instrument of public diplomacy and means for fostering greater cross-cultural understanding among citizens, artistic exchange is of particular importance in the current historical moment. Yet, recent research by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation suggests that both public and private grantmaking in this field declined substantially after the turn of the 21st century (Ayers 2010).

Broadly, this research found that grantmakers were divesting from programs and projects in support of international cultural exchange between 2003 and 2008. The report aimed not only to describe the state of funding in the field for artistic and cultural exchange, but also to reinvigorate foundation activity in this area by articulating its value and clearly depicting contemporary gaps in support. The current report provides an update to Robert Sterling Clark Foundation’s (RSF) important work.

One way to comprehend the larger trend of East Asian international students at American colleges and universities on a more personal level is to study information from Warren Wilson College about East Asian students throughout the college’s existence.  By examining the history of East Asian international students at Warren Wilson College, the historical and current enrollment data and research on East Asian enrollment in American colleges and universities as a whole, and the impact of United States foreign policy on East Asian international student enrollment, one can better understand the shifting economic demand of an American college education and perhaps even help bolster the American education system through trying economic times.

This poster presentation focuses on the powerful motivating role of authentic writing projects in promoting international communication and cultural exchange. International friendship letter exchanges have proven to be a successful way of activating foreign language students' language acquisition. Show-cased will be several examples of such authentic writing projects between university students in Japan and various levels/ages of students in Australia, Laos, and China. Steps for emulation and suggestions as to how to animate the L2 experience in conjunction with specific international events and occasions will also be demonstrated.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, numerous Hispano-American writers, who were often also diplomats, arrived in Paris. They established contact with French intellectuals, mainly academics, and participated actively in French intellectual life. The exchanges between these Hispano-American and French intellectuals were based on a common identification with Latinism, a pan-nationalistic ideology developed in Europe and Latin America since the nineteenth century and calling for unification of all “Latin” peoples. Hispano-American elites and intellectuals, looking for a way to federate all Latin-American countries against the power of the United States, and seeking a rapprochement with France for political and cultural reasons, largely supported pan-Latinism. As for their French intellectual partners, eager to reinforce their country's global influence, they conveyed the pan-Latin ideology in the framework of their efforts to promote French cultural presence in Latin America. During the Great War, these cultural and intellectual initiatives concerning pan-Latinism drew the attention of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leading to their integration in the newly created French international propaganda mechanism.

This paper considers an on-going exchange programme between the Boole Library, University College Cork (UCC) and Hangzhou Municipal Library, South East China. The Authors describe the exchange and their impressions of working in a Chinese library.

Research featured in the Japan TImes, by WILLIAM HOLLINGWORTH

Japan's soft power has been boosted immeasurably by its decades-long policy of recruiting foreign graduates to come and teach in the country, according to a study by a British-based researcher.

This report, an outgrowth of the 2013 Bellagio conference, “Cultural Connections: Engaging Muslim-Majority Nations and the West,” reviews some of the issues, challenges, opportunities and suggestions circulating among various stakeholders before offering a new intervention: an Index of important projects within the field, and an analysis of the interconnections between its members. The Index, generated from both archival and survey methods, identifies and describes 121 artistic projects that facilitate artistic exchange between artists of Muslim-majority countries (in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa [MENA] and from Central, South, and Southeast Asia, and artists from those diasporas) and U.S. audiences. While this report does not include a comprehensive mapping, it was designed to show the features of a diffuse field of artistic engagement, including the identification of resource-rich and –poor members within it, and the connections among its constitutive organizations, funders, and artists, and the projects they support.