Our Project:

Diplomacy and Literature:

The Round-Table Series

In his most celebrated work, the Guide to Diplomatic Practice, Sir Ernest Satow (1843-1929), a great authority in conceptualizing Diplomacy, gave a very elegant description of the qualities he saw as indispensable for a diplomat.

“A mind trained by the study of the best literature, and by that of history” – is a phrase in Satow’s most thoughtful check-list one cannot ignore.

The Kyiv School of Diplomatic Arts has chosen the cited formula as the main theme for a round table series we are happy to carry out alongside our other activities.

Both pleasant and extremely practical, the discussions we repeatedly arrange are focused on the following questions:

• What should the modern diplomats read? What ‘classics’ and other literary works are called for in such context?
• What courses on literature (or, rather, literatures) should the diplomats’ training include?
• What literary works the young and prospective diplomats of our day should grasp to be versed in history?
• Literatures in Public Diplomacy: what needs to be learned?

In addition to our quite frequent cozy bookworms’ meetings, we are occasionally privileged to hold much wider and more splendid gatherings.

The latter (being a combination of face-to-face assemblies with telecommunication polylogue) embrace scholars, diplomats, and other bright individuals dwelling on the role of culture (or cultures) in international relations.

It will be our most exquisite delight to welcome new participants to this framework.

 

Please, follow our alerts regarding the next events in this ‘Diplomacy and Literature’ series.

 

 

Sir Ernest Satow is cited from:

Satow, Ernest Mason. A Guide to Diplomatic Practice. Third edition. London, NY, Toronto. Longmans, Green. and Co., 1932. P.120