Martha Bayles: “Through a Screen Darkly”

On March 5, 2014, Martha Bayles exploring the role of popular culture in shaping America’s global image, from the Cold War through the 1990s, when US public diplomacy was cut back, and Hollywood was allowed to become America’s defacto ambassador. A faculty member at Boston College, Martha Bayles' research is focused on American culture and its place in the world. She is a former TV and arts critic for the Wall Street Journal and the author of "Hole in Our Soul: The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music." Her new book is entitled "Through a Screen Darkly: Popular Culture, Public Diplomacy, and America's Image Abroad" (Yale, 2014).