Cultural Diplomacy

Scott Lingenfelter is a senior lecturer at Grand Valley State University, where he teaches courses in modern world history, Russian and Soviet history, and the history of U.S. foreign relations. He holds a Ph.D. in modern Russian history from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Lingenfelter is the recipient of a Kennan Institute Title VIII short-term research fellowship to study the role of the Robert Shaw Chorale in the cultural diplomacy program of the U.S. State Department in the early 1960s.

"Professor Scott Lingenfelter's anthology is a useful collection which relays relevant information concerning cultural diplomacy. He has selected high-quality articles and other sources, offered comments on tough issues, raised provocative questions, and provided insightful comments. I was born and grew up during the Maoist era in China. I witnessed the normalization of US-China relations via Ping-Pong diplomacy. I understand the importance of cultural encounters in easing the tense international relationship. Indeed, Professor Lingenfelter's anthology is an important volume to anyone who wants to probe the issue concerning cultural diplomacy." Patrick Shan, Professor, History Department, Grand Valley State University "I had a chance to read Cultural Diplomacy, edited by my colleague, Scott Lingenfelter. I think it's an excellent anthology. The readings are interesting, and the pedagogical structure should be helpful to students. The collection would certainly be useful in a political science course focused on this topic, but I can also see it being used in a twentieth-century United States foreign policy course since a majority of the readings deal with elements of American international relations. I believe the notion of 'soft' power remains underexamined in American history and use of this collection could provide students with new insights into its importance." Wilson J. Warren, Ph.D., Professor, Department of History, Western Michigan University