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USC Classes in Public Diplomacy

Students in the program may decide to emphasize public diplomacy training most appropriate for a career in public service, the corporate world or in a nongovernmental organization (NGO) working in the ever expanding global civil society. Detailed descriptions of all the new graduate-level courses in public diplomacy follow.

PUBD 502 Historical and Comparative Approaches to Public Diplomacy: This course examines historical and comparative approaches to public diplomacy, a term used interchangeably with propaganda, mass persuasion, and international public relations. Students will learn how public diplomacy operates in both public and private settings, by individuals and institutions, and will review traditional, critical, war, and peace perspectives on the subject. While much of the course will address U.S. public diplomacy in historical perspective, many readings will compare public diplomacy across cultural and continental divides in order to gain a better understanding of approaches and operating assumptions. This course is required of all students pursuing the Master's in Public Diplomacy degree.

PUBD 504 Global Issues and Public Diplomacy: This course looks at public diplomacy in the context of contemporary world issues. It examines the evolving definition of the term in the post-9/11 world and its varying practical applications in different parts of the world. Students will learn how public diplomacy can be employed in widely differing circumstances, from both U.S. and international perspectives. This course is required of all students pursuing the Master's in Public Diplomacy degree.

PUBD 508 The Rhetoric of War and Peace: The purpose of this course is to explore the rhetorics of war and peace from a 21st century perspective. The first portion of the course is devoted to researching and thinking about Bush's "new war" on terrorism. The class is a special exercise in "Think Tank" procedure, stemming from the premise that advanced study requires the generation of new knowledge through research, discovery, analysis, editorial selection, criticism, and creative integration of oral, discursive and graphic representations.

PUBD 510 Technologies and Public Diplomacy: The goal of this course is to better understand the relationship between public diplomacy and technological change. To do so, it draws from a wide range of literatures, schools of though, and approaches to carefully examine that relationship. Particular emphasis will be given to the question of how new media may force us to rethink traditional frameworks of public diplomacy.

PUBD 512 Cultural Diplomacy: This course develops a nuanced understanding of how cultural diplomacy takes place today, not only through high-brow cultural exchange programs but through the more callous exchange of commercial culture. While this course will provide an overview of formal cultural diplomacy programs, it will concentrate on the ways in which non-governmental entities communicate across international boundaries and the effects of those interchanges. In a world of converging media and accelerated intercultural exchange - where citizens may have a hard time distinguishing between "foreign" and "local" cultural content - how do we harness the power of culture for diplomatic ends?

PUBD 514 Corporate Diplomacy: Continued advances in technology and globalization coupled with stakeholders' increasing desire for corporate transparency means that organizations are confronted with a greater need to shape the policies of foreign governments by influencing the opinions of its citizens. This course will provide the basic public diplomacy and public relations tools for global organizations and their foreign publics.

PUBD 516 International Broadcasting: This course is designed to provide extensive background in the history and practice of broadcasting across national borders, whether to influence public opinion and politics or for commerical return and financial gain. First, the historical, political and technological contexts of international broadcasting are covered, with special attention to US government-supported entites like the Voice of America, and to the major global broadcasters in Britain, France and elsewhere. The course then covers the emergence of viable commerical international broadcasters, and the increasing involvement in the 1990s of former niche players. Finally, the course examinses the development in the early 21st Century of such regional satellite services as Al Jazeera and the SABC Africa service, along with satellite TV services started recently by the US government.

PUBD 596 Practicum in Public Diplomacy Research: The goal of this course is to provide students completing their Master in Public Diplomacy with an opportunity to apply the knowledge they have learned in the curriculum by designing, executing, and reporting on a final project. The student may produce a substantive paper (e.g., traditional research project) or final project (videotapes, web sites, etc.) that utilizes new technologies. Possible audiences for the research include policy makers, foreign ministries, international NGOs, multinational corporations, etc. Students will work closely with their advisor to complete this course.

Beyond the new classes listed above, courses in the Schools of Communication and International Relations will also be part of the curriculum. Classes are currently open to all graduate students enrolled at USC. Interested students may contact the USC Annenberg Admissions Office at (213) 821-0770 or ascadm@usc.edu or the USC College Office of Admission at (213) 740-8555 or admission@college.usc.edu for more information.