Panel to debate whether U.S. culture is force for good

Panel to debate whether U.S. culture is force for good

by Liz Healy
Metroland Online
04/02/2004

Jon Fisher, a senior at the University at Albany, recalled attending a birthday party during his study abroad in Oxford, England, in late 2001 and being questioned by many concerned people about why the United States seemed to be splitting with the United Nations on the decision to go to war with Iraq. “It felt like [I talked to] the entire restaurant as I went from table to table answering questions,” he said, explaining that he felt a responsibility to defend his country, but at the same time, “It’s almost like I wanted to let them know that I was American and I wanted to keep working with the U.N. too.”

Memories like this are the reason why he, now back in the United States, and friend Adam Winters founded an Albany chapter of Americans for Informed Democracy in January 2004. AID is a nonpartisan student organization launched by three American recent college graduates to create a more “globally engaged America as well as a world ready to embrace American involvement in world affairs.” It has chapters at more than a dozen campuses worldwide. Fisher said he thinks it is important for Americans to be aware of how they are seen in other countries and for the people in those countries to be informed on the diversity of American viewpoints.

Last week, as part of a two-week program by AID and the We Are Family Foundation to initiate discussion at universities across the country—and a couple in Europe—on the role of American culture abroad, Fisher and Winters organized the panel discussion “American Culture in the World: Benevolent Force or Evil Empire?” They asked six UAlbany professors with expertise in areas of the world including Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East to present brief speeches on the topic of American culture abroad, which would be followed by questions from the audience.

“Unilateralism did not begin with George W. Bush,” said professor Karl Barbir, the panel’s Middle East expert, whose lecture focused on the historical roots of U.S. foreign policy. He discussed the historical relationship between the United States and the Middle East and other examples of the United States splitting from other countries, such as the Monroe Doctrine.

Other speeches focused on the role of American media abroad. Professor Michael Barberich, the panel’s media expert, discussed images of the United States that he thinks don’t make it overseas, such as an emphasis on images of fear and security.

Professor Yvonne Perry, a member of the university’s theater department, was chosen to represent the positive side of American culture because of her career on television shows like Silk Stalkings and Candid Camera. She was the last speaker, following more than an hour of intellectual and historical discussion with a frank and personal account of her recent visits to China. She described being shocked to find herself in a non-multicultural society, and recounted her surprise and discomfort at feeling like an outsider when she ventured into nontourist areas.

The panel was sponsored by the College Democrats, Republicans and Greens, which meant the audience of about 150 students had a broad spectrum of points of view. The discussion period following the speeches was intense and lasted more than an hour. “It was a balancing act,” said Winters. “It was tough because we were trying to make it legitimate with the nonpartisan aspect of it, but I could tell that some people came in with very strong opinions.”

The students had a wide range of reactions to the panelists’ overall message as well. Tim Elliot, a junior, said he was surprised about how “pro-American” he found the discussion. “If I wanted to see something like this I could have turned on the TV. I was expecting something completely different, the real deal,” he said, adding, “I liked that [Barbir] actually talked about Rumsfeld and Iraq.”

Jeff Fay, a part-time student and legal researcher for the New York State Legislature, said he was glad he came because he found the panel very interesting, but that he thought there was a lack of balance. “I found it was about as far left as I expected it to be. . . . I don’t think that this panel or its general theme reflected that there are many parts of [American culture worldwide] that are positive,” he said.

Simone Grant, a junior, said she had thought the discussion was going to be more negative because of the flier that advertised it, but she found it very fair and enjoyed the historical context the speakers provided.