Abstract

Combining the perspectives of 18 international scholars from Europe and the United States with a critical discussion of the role of culture in international relations, this volume introduces recent trends in the study of Culture and International History. It systematically explores the cultural dimension of international history, mapping existing approaches and conceptual lenses for the study of cultural factors and thus hopes to sharpen the awareness for the cultural approach to international history among both American and non-American scholars.

The first part provides a methodological introduction, explores the cultural underpinnings of foreign policy, and the role of culture in international affairs by reviewing the historiography and examining the meaning of the word culture in the context of foreign relations. In the second part, contributors analyze culture as a tool of foreign policy. They demonstrate how culture was instrumentalized for diplomatic goals and purposes in different historical periods and world regions. The essays in the third part expand the state-centered view and retrace informal cultural relations among nations and peoples. This exploration of non-state cultural interaction focuses on the role of science, art, religion, and tourism. The fourth part collects the findings and arguments of part one, two, and three to define a roadmap for further scholarly inquiry. A group of" commentators" survey the preceding essays, place them into a larger research context, and address the question "Where do we go from here?" The last and fifth part presents a selection of primary sources along with individual comments highlighting a new genre of resources scholars interested in culture and international relations can consult.

Frank Schumacher is Assistant Professor of North American History at the University of Erfurt, Germany. He is the author of Kalter Krieg und Propaganda. Die USA, der Kampf um die Weltmeinung und die ideelle Westbindung der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, 1945-1955. He has published articles on 19th and 20th century North American diplomatic, military, cultural and environmental history and is currently at work on his second book entitled The American Way of Empire: the United States and the Quest for Imperial Identity,1880-1920.

Jessica C. E. Gienow-Hecht is Professor of History at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies at the Free University of Berlin.

“... expertly edited ... [this book] offers the reader an impressive, scholarly, seminal, thoughtful, and thought-provoking series of observations, assessments, and interpretations.”“  · The Midwest Book Review

“Advocates of a linkage between cultural studies and international history will find much to interest them in this book...The role of culture in international history has increasingly been accepted in the academic community as a crucial topic of study. A new generation of scholars, in a challenge to more traditional historians, has posted its theses at Wittenberg. Let the debate continue, and the reformation begin."  · Journal of Cold War Studies

"Overall, this is a skilfully constructed collection which fulfils the ambitions of the editors in offering an insightful introduction to this emergent field. (It is also particularly useful in mediating the work of continental, and notably German, scholars to the Anglophone world.) ‘Culturalist’ work in international history has rejuvenated the sub- discipline and has created new opportunities for productive interdisciplinary interchange"  · European History Quarterly