CPD Doctoral Conference on Public Diplomacy

There is growing interest among young and emerging scholars in focusing on the field of public diplomacy. To recognize and support the work of doctoral students, and as part of its commitment to advancing the study of public diplomacy, the USC Center on Public Diplomacy (CPD) hosted the first-ever Doctoral Conference on Public Diplomacy on October 14, 2016, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Doctoral students from across the world convened to present their research and engage with a network of academics and practitioners at the one-day program. The program was open to a wide range of topics and methodological approaches.

Conference Schedule

Welcome Remarks
Jay Wang (University of Southern California)

Panel #1: Public Diplomacy in the Digital Age
Chair: Philip Seib (University of Southern California)
Discussant: Patricia Riley (University of Southern California)

• The Cultural Code: National Identity and Public Diplomacy of Internet Governance
  Stanislav Budnitskiy (Carleton University)
• Digital Methods, Social Media, and Public Diplomacy Evaluation: The Case Study of the G20 2014 in Brisbane
  Luigi Di Martino (Western Sydney University)
• The Ties that Bind: Conceptualizing Dialogic Engagement in Nation Branding and PD Activities
  Ilan Manor (University of Oxford)
• From Cold War Conflict to Cultural Congruency Online: #ObamainCuba and the New Public Twipolomacy
  Ricardo Valencia (University of Oregon)
   

Panel #2: Rising Soft Powers
Chair: Robert Banks (University of Southern California)
Discussant: G. Thomas Goodnight (University of Southern California)

• Peng Liyuan: China’s First Lady in Diplomacy
  Jeeyun (Sophia) Baik (University of Southern California)
• Being Foreign or Being Lefitst: Exploring the Hybridity of RT America
  Liang Pan (University of Washington)
• India's Public Diplomacy Initiatives: Leveraging Soft Power
  Sonali Singh (Banaras Hindu University)
   

Panel #3: Public Diplomacy during Crises and Conflicts
Chair: Douglas Becker (University of Southern California
Discussant: Thomas Hollihan (University of Southern California)

• The South China Sea Disputes Between China and the Philippines From a Public Diplomacy Perspective
  Tianyi Bai (Zhejiang University)
• Reconceptualizing Diplomatic Crisis Communication: The Changing Face of Diplomatic Signals in an Age of Real-Time Governance
  Jennifer Cassidy (University of Oxford)
• Has the Culture of Personality Returned to China?
  Luwei (Rose) Liqiu (Pennsylvania State University)
   

Panel #4: New Actors and Networks in Public Diplomacy 
Chair: Pamela Starr (University of Southern California)
Discussant: Spiro Kiousis (University of Florida)

• Public Diplomacy as a Multiple Actor Communicative Process: A Cultural Approach to South Korea's Overseas Volunteer Program
  ​Kyung Sun (Karen) Lee (University of Texas at Austin)
• U.S. Promotion of GM Foods in Mexico: An Analysis and Application of a Public Diplomacy Model
  Yadira Ixchel Martinez Pantoja (The University of Auckland)
• Cultural Diplomacy to Empower Multilateral Cooperation: The Case of BRICS
  Carolijn van Noort (University of Otago)
• Development Aid and Public Diplomacy as Tools of Polish Smart Power in the Context of NGO Activity
  Katarzyna Zalas-Kamińska (University of Wroclaw)
   

Closing Remarks
Jay Wang (University of Southern California)

See photos from the event here.