Public Diplomacy Through Confucius Classrooms and Implications

• In Event: Possibilities and Limitations of Public and Face-to-Face Diplomacy

Abstract

This paper investigates the aims and effects of Chinese Confucius programming as part of China’s public diplomacy strategy. The chapter relies on a year-long field study following a group of U.S. high schoolers at two schools with Chinese Confucius Classrooms. It draws upon three waves of a longitudinal survey, interviews and focus groups, as well as classroom observations at the schools. The responses of students taking part in the Chinese program are compared to those of students who do not take part, and they are also compared to responses from simultaneous national surveys of teens. The study shows that over several months of programming, favorability of student views towards China decreases regardless of whether students are studying Chinese in Confucius Classrooms or not. At the same time, China-relevant knowledge increases among Confucius Classroom students. Chinese language students’ ideas about China include a mix of positive and negative judgments, indicating that students in these classes hold more complex conceptions of the Chinese state than do peers studying other foreign languages. This paper suggests both possibilities and limitations of Chinese transnational public influence via educational programs.

Author

• Naima Green-Riley, Harvard University