April 5, 2023, 1 – 2pm EST…
Visiting Scholar Dr. Tran Khang from University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Soft Power through Museum Diplomacy: The case study of Vietnam, USA and Japan in telling the story of wars.
Abstract: Soft power, according to Professor Joseph Nye (Harvard University), is the ability to get what you want by shaping the preferences of others through attractiveness and charisma. In contrast to the coercive nature of hard power, soft power focuses on persuading or telling compelling stories that make countries attractive to the world. Thus, soft power is the ability to use attraction and persuasion to achieve desired goals, with resources coming from cultural characteristics, political ideals, and foreign policy. Using the concept of soft power as a theoretical research orientation, the study analyzes the case studies of Vietnam, USA and Japan in achieving soft power through Museum diplomacy. Museum diplomacy is a way in which countries, through the display of historical artifacts in museums, introduce and promote the images and values of their national identity and culture to the international public. The three museums selected for the talk are the War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C, USA; and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Hiroshima, Japan which are the outstanding museums about war and the violent past. Although the three museums are symbols of hard power and war trauma, but through effective storytelling, they have helped to increase the soft power and improve the sympathy for the three countries in international public.
Please join us for the presentation and discussion.
Event Details
Date: April 5, 2023; 1 – 2pm EST
Venue: Sigur Center for Asian Studies, 1957 E St NW,, Washington, D.C. 20052.
Lunch will be provided.