Cultural Cold War

L’evoluzione giuridica del potere dell’occupante un territorio nemico nel diritto internazionale bellico nel corso della Seconda Guerra Mondiale

by Flavio Carbone

published in AA. VV., Acta del XXIV Congresso della Commission Internationale d’Histoire Militaire, Trieste 31 agosto – 5 settembre 2008, Roma, Commissione Italiana di Storia Militare, 2009, tomo 1, pp. 374-381.

The juridical evolution of the occupying forces in an enemy territory in International Law during the Secondo World War. The juridical evolution of the occupying forces in an enemy territory in International Law during the Secondo World War.

The Death of Carlos Fuentes: an Impossible Silencing Act. In Memoriam (1928-2012)

by Pedro García-Caro

A Contracorriente. Vol. 9, No. 3, Spring 2012, i-x

At home everywhere and yet nowhere entirely settled, Fuentes’s restless searching spirit should be remembered for his... more At home everywhere and yet nowhere entirely settled, Fuentes’s restless searching spirit should be remembered for his independent style, his humanistic promotion of critical thought, his unrestricted rebelliousness against conventions, stifling fashions, bureaucratization, and dogmatism.

Jean-Paul Sartre en colère

by Yan Hamel

Dans PIERSSENS, Michel et Jean-Jacques LEFRÈRE (dir.). Querelles et invectives. Dixième Colloque des Invalides (décembre 2006), Tusson, Éditions Du Lérot, 2007, p. 95-100.

Ce monstre sureuropéen, l’Amérique du Nord. Jean-Paul Sartre, les États-Unis et la Guerre froide

by Yan Hamel

Dans LAROCHELLE, Marie-Hélène (dir.). Monstres et monstrueux littéraires, Québec, Les Presses de l’Université Laval, 2008, p. 71-85.

Review: Hugh Wilford, The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA played America, Harvard University Press, 2008 [in Greek]

by Kostis Karpozilos

Review for the literary supplement „"Vivliodromio‟ of the Greek daily newspaper Ta Nea

Plunderer and Protector of Cultural Property: Security-Intelligence Services Shape the Strategic Value of Art

by Erik Nemeth

View abstract at: View abstract at: http://culturalsecurity.net/cs/research.htm#plundererandprotector

Cultural security: the evolving role of art in international security

by Erik Nemeth

View abstract at: View abstract at: http://culturalsecurity.net/cs/research.htm#culturalsecurity

Conflict art: scholars develop the tactical value of cultural patrimony

by Erik Nemeth

View abstract at: View abstract at: http://culturalsecurity.net/cs/research.htm#conflictart

Shaping the Policies of Cold War Musical Diplomacy: An Epistemic Community of American Composers

by Emily Ansari

Diplomatic History (forthcoming, January 2012)

Aaron Copland and the Politics of Cultural Diplomacy

by Emily Ansari

Journal of the Society for American Music 5/3 (2011)

Scholars have largely ignored Aaron Copland’s lengthy career as a cultural diplomat, although the documentation... more Scholars have largely ignored Aaron Copland’s lengthy career as a cultural diplomat, although the documentation surrounding it sheds newlight on his political views. Through a consideration of his work with the U.S. government duringWorldWar II and the Cold War this article argues that a brand of universalist internationalism, rooted in his earliermusical experiences in Europe and in his leftist politics, motivated many of Copland’s political activities at home and overseas during this period. Copland remained committed to this perspective both before and after his McCarthy hearing in 1953, but the Cold War inevitably brought new challenges to a man with such an outlook. Copland’s work with the U.S. Information Agency during this period shows that although his beliefs and attitudes remained unchanged, he felt the need to participate in a reconstruction of his image that better matched the new climate. His music written during the Cold War, furthermore, provides an artistic realization of this interaction between pragmatism and idealism.

John Barber & Leszek Głuchowski, "Survey of Research and Teaching in Soviet, Slavonic and East European Studies in British Universities and Polytechnics," King's College Cambridge (January 1988).

by Leszek Gluchowski

See Ngalo Crequer, "Gorbachev visit highlights decay of Soviet studies," The Independent [London] (7 Dec. 1987).

BBDO and US Steel on Radio and Television, 1948-53: The Problems of Sponsorship, New Media, and the Communist Threat

by Cynthia B. Meyers

Conference paper presented at On, Archives! Conference, 9 July 2010, Madison, WI

Using archival sources, this paper analyzes how an ad agency worked with a major corporate client on a radio &... more Using archival sources, this paper analyzes how an ad agency worked with a major corporate client on a radio & television program. Because the program, based on theatrical plays, was designed to promote the corporate image of US Steel, the agency actively blacklisted talent to protect that image.

The Science Education Film: Cinematizing Technocracy and Internationalizing Development

by Matthew Johnson

Journal of Chinese Cinemas special issue, “The Missing Period of PRC Cinema,” Vol. 5, No. 1 (2011), pp. 31-53.

The Blank Paper: Reflections on McCarthyism and National Identity

by James Eric (Jay) Black

McCarthyism is a logical but extreme product of the political machinery and national identity, grounded in attitudes,... more McCarthyism is a logical but extreme product of the political machinery and national identity, grounded in attitudes, assumptions and judgments with deep roots in American history. From the Alien and Sedition acts, the Palmer raids and Sacco and Vansetti through immigration laws and the Cold War, America has long feared radicalism. Society can be swept up in the fear that its way of life or even existence can be threatened. During these times traditional patterns of behavior and institutions are swept aside as well. Outbreaks of intolerance reveal as much about a national identity as it does about the dangers to society, whether real or imagined. During the New  Deal, most Americans favored denying freedom of speech, press and assembly to native Communists. To complicate matters, the anti-Communist persuasion often found expression in the mindless identification of all social  change in domestic affairs with communism.This persuasion became the savage “other” in which McCarthy and his ilk needed to form their national identity. Although Joe McCarthy never proved one person to be a Soviet sympathizer, he never had to.  His torch and burn rhetoric of unsubstantiated accusations was enough to ruin the reputation of anyone who stumbled in his way.  The question presents itself; if McCarthy was unsuccessful in rooting out Communists, were Communists  the real enemy to those who followed his Anti-Communist persuasion? This essay will focus on the concept that the Anti-Communist crusader McCarthy had less to say about real Soviet infiltrators  than  he did about those who questioned his power and glory.  These so called Communists and Communist sympathizers by name only tended to be the educated elite and a power structure than  hampered his reign of demagoguery. Lessons can be learned form this time to  identify and understand similar accusations aimed at educators today.

The Emergence of 'Atomodoxy' in Cold-War Rhetoric and Science Fiction Narratives: Fear, Threats, and the Duties of Citizenship in an Atomic Age

by James Eric (Jay) Black

Looking for a home

When reading about nuclear and communist fears in the United States after World War II, a commonly used phrase is... more When reading about nuclear and communist fears in the United States after World War II, a commonly used phrase is “fears, either real or imagined.” Most work concentrated on the perceived real fears. This essay attempts to identify and illuminate the imagined companion narratives of a world in the Nuclear Age. These narratives were created out of fear of what could be rather than a fear of what was, a fear of philosophy rather than historical fact, and became the companion to facts that ultimately became conspiratorial truisms. This paper refers to these instantly recognizable Cold War metaphors, opinions and narrative constructs as atomodoxies. This essay analyses representative textual anecdotes that began circulating shortly after the advent of the atomic bomb including those evident in the science fiction movies Them! and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. How does a good citizen respond to monsters and communists? What is victory? These examples are more than just entertaining stories for the public. Atomodoxies supplemented and provided scaffolding for the prevailing cold war ideology and cast the cold war and communism into mythic realities.

Im Geheimdienst Seiner Majestät, des Kapitalismus: Helden der Popkultur: Spione und Agenten im Kalten Krieg

by Bodo Mrozek

"Die Spione, die aus der Popkultur kamen, haben als Helden neuen Typs nicht so sehr den Kommunismus bekämpft. Sie... more "Die Spione, die aus der Popkultur kamen, haben als Helden neuen Typs nicht so sehr den Kommunismus bekämpft. Sie haben stattdessen den Kapitalismus definiert. Kulturgeschichtlich macht sie das keineswegs weniger bedeutsam. Schließlich waren es keine Minikameras, Abhörprotokolle, Überläufer oder Strategieinformationen aus dem Arsenal der geheimen Dienste, die den Kalten Krieg am Ende entschieden. Den Sozialismus besiegten vielmehr die hedonistischen Verheißungen des Kapitalismus: Wohlstand, Konsum und grenzenlose Reisefreiheit. Nirgendwo waren diese Verlockungen schillernder präsentiert und plakativer formuliert worden als in der Popkultur, und deren geheimer Agent trägt den Namen Bond. James Bond."

Adrian Boult, Thomas Russell, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra Communist Witch-Hunt of 1952.

by Richard Witts

Paper given at one of the Music in British Society seminars at the Institute of British History, Senate House, London, 2003, chaired by Cyril Ehrlich..

In 1952 the London Philharmonic Orchestra sacked its highly admired and successful orchestra manager, Thomas Russell,... more In 1952 the London Philharmonic Orchestra sacked its highly admired and successful orchestra manager, Thomas Russell, because of his openly communist connections. Boult's role in this scandal is examined, using public documents together with an aural account made by Frederick Riddle, principal viola and deputy chairman of the orchestra at the time.

U Nu, China, and the “Burmese” Cold War: Propaganda in Burma in the 1950s.

by Michael Charney

This chapter was published in Zheng, Yangwen and Liu, Hong and Szonyi, Michael, (eds.), The Cold War in Asia: The Battle for Hearts and Minds. Leiden: Brill, 2010, pp. 41-58. Publisher link: http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=210&pid=33761

Description:

The Cold War stayed cold in Europe but it was hot in Asia. Its legacy lives on in the region. In none of the three dominant historiographical paradigms: orthodox, revisionist and post-revisionist, does Asia, or the rest of the Third World, figure with much significance. What happens to these narratives if we put them to the test in Asia? This volume argues that attention to what has been conventionally considered the periphery is essential to a full understanding of the global Cold War. Foregrounding Asia necessarily leads to a re-assessment of the dominant narratives. This volume also argues for a shift in focus from diplomacy and high politics alone towards research into the culture of the Cold War era and its public diplomacy. The Table of contents for the volume can be read here: http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=210&pid=33761

Reviews:

The H-diplo roundtable on this volume can be read here: http://www.h-net.org/~diplo/roundtables/PDF/Roundtable-XII-10.pdf Review snippets from the publisher's website include:

“This volume represents a significant and timely contribution to the growing fields of international history and of ‘new’ Cold War Studies.”
Matthew Johnson, Grinnell College

'As a whole, the essays contribute to enriching our understanding of what was really happening in an era that is too often understood in the catch-all framework of the Cold War.' - Akira Iriye, Harvard University

Ludu Aung Than: Nu's Burma and the Cold War

by Michael Charney

This chapter was published in Goscha, Christopher and Ostermann, Christian, (eds.), Connecting Histories: Decolonization and the Cold War in Southeast Asia. International History Project Series. Stanford University Press. 2009. The Table of contents for the volume can be read here: http://hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de/media/beitraege/rezbuecher/toc_15002.pdf

Reviews of the volume:

The H-diplo roundtable review of the volume can be found here: http://www.h-net.org/~diplo/roundtables/PDF/Roundtable-XI-37.pdf Another review can be read here: http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-Soz-u-Kult&month=1103&week=d&msg=BT9hKzuC2177VfDbY8czJg Review snippets, from the publisher's website include:

"Connecting Histories is an important resource on an underexamined subject, namely the intersection in Asia of the East-West struggle and the North-South struggle during the two decades after 1945. An authoritative, consistently illuminating study."—Fredrik Logevall, Cornell University

"The roster of contributors comprises a broad, international cast of top established and younger scholars, and the scope of the book is bold and imaginative. This volume has the potential to be a model volume of the new international history."—Robert McMahon, The Ohio State University

Description of the edited volume as a whole:

Connecting Histories: Decolonization and the Cold War in Southeast Asia draws on newly available archival documentation from both Western and Asian countries to explore decolonization, the Cold War, and the establishment of a new international order in post-World War II Southeast Asia.

Major historical forces intersected here—of power, politics, economics, and culture—on trajectories East to West, North to South, across the South itself, and along less defined tracks. Especially important, democratic-communist competitions sought the loyalties of Southeast Asian nationalists, even as some colonial powers sought to resume their prewar dominance. These intersections are the focus of the contributions to this book, which use new sources and approaches to examine some of the most important historical trajectories of the twentieth century in Burma, Vietnam, Malaysia, and a number of other countries.