Controversias de la Guerra Fría cultural. Una reflexión desde los American Studies, 1945-1975

Abstract

The Cold War also triggered a cultural battle between the Soviets and U.S. Americans. Both aimed to radiate their own social and cultural models, together with their own ideologies, in their rival's sphere of influence, and above all, to check the expansion of their opponent's values in their own sphere. The promotion and diffusion of U.S. or American Studies in the universities of the Western European block was part of that conflict. To date, little is known about the people who tried to improve European appreciation of U.S. History, Art, Literature or Political Science, or about the means they used. This article will also discuss more general issues of the cultural cold war, such as: When did the U.S. propaganda machine start to function? or Did the Soviet Union invest more in propaganda than the United States?