American Avatar: The United States in the Global Imagination with Barry A. Sanders

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy was pleased to host Barry A. Sanders for a discussion of his new book, American Avatar: The United States in the Global Imagination.

In this new book, Sanders addresses the research and analysis done since September 11, 2001 which has focused on a false impression that foreigners’ views of America are normally negative and impervious to change. In fact their images are complex, emotional, frequently internally contradictory, and often change quickly. This CPD Conversation in Public Diplomacy highlighted the perceptions that other publics have about America and how America understands those perceptions.

Read the event synopsis below.

About Barry Sanders:
Barry Sanders is a member of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy's Advisory Board, an adjunct professor of communication studies at UCLA. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy. Please click here to read Barry's full bio.

SYNOPSIS
At this event, Sanders addressed the mis-impression about the roots of people’s views of the United States and what can be done to alter them. He shared his analysis about the factors that influence attitudes a person expresses about the United States. Sanders discussed how examining the biases or predispositions that guide people in selecting among the myriad stored images to express an opinion on a given day. He went on to point out that both anti-American and pro-American biases play a role in explaining which criticisms should be heeded when crafting foreign policy and communicating national objectives to friends and foes alike.

More information about American Avatar: The United States in the Global Imagination can be found by clicking here.