History 1BB3: America and the World: The Twentieth Century

Dr. Stephen M. Streeter

McMaster University, Winter 2002

 

Cultural Imperialism or Cultural Transfer?

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I. Definitions and Questions

"Culture in the study of international relations may be defined as the sharing and transmitting of consciousness within and across national boundaries." Culture is "the creation and communication of memory, ideology, emotions, life styles, scholary and artistic works, and other symbols." (Akira Iryie)

1. When does the transmission and exchange of culture across international borders become cultural imperialism?

cultural imperialism: "the systematic penetration and domination of the cultural life of the popular classes by the ruling class of the West in order to reorder the values, behavior, institutions, and identity of the oppressed people to conform with the interests of the imperial class." (James Petras)

2. Is there a difference between the expansion of capitalism on a global scale and "Americanization?"

"liberal developmentalism"

1. American exceptionalism
2. Free enterprise
3. Free trade and investment
4. Free flow of information and culture
5. Government assistance in promoting economic and cultural exchange
(Emily Rosenberg)

II. The Export of American Culture

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
U.S. Information Agency (USIA) (1953)
Voice of America (VOA) (1942)

III. The Impact of "Americanization" on Europe

American National Exhibition at Sokolniki Park, Moscow (1959)
"kitchen debate": Nixon vs. Khrushchev (July 1959)
"Coca-Colonization" in Austria

Further Reading:

CNN website on Culture and the Cold War

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