Blog to Examine International Anti-American Sentiment

Following the blogging craze that swept last fall's presidential race, students at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism are following suit with an in-depth look at anti-American sentiment across the globe.

The group blog, short for Web log, aims to examine the way America is perceived on an international level by tracking both pro- and anti-American attitudes in selected countries.

The perception of the United States in other countries is still largely under-reported in the United States media, said visiting scholar Francis Pisani, who launched the project in an effort to keep Americans informed of how their nation is viewed by citizens of other countries.

The project is an extension of a course Pisani taught last semester in which students blogged about international media regarding the presidential election. It is designed to create a unique discussion forum for UC Berkeley students and international bloggers.

"We saw how the world looked at the United States," Pisani said. "We're trying to keep a balanced eye-we're in a good position to see good and bad things."

The eight-week project will have a Web address tomorrow, and the blog will be fully up and running in the next few weeks.

"As of now, we have students tracking Indonesia, Argentina, France, Spain, Germany, Israel, Morocco and China," said Pisani, a native of France who has worked and studied in Latin America.

The project has already drawn the attention of other faces of the campus community, including political science professor Steven Weber, who said the project was a good way to start tabulating information on the topic.

"From an institutional perspective, one of the major phenomena in the international environment is a rapid rise in anti-American sentiment," Weber said. "This is a way to start collecting some data and getting a sense of the phenomenon."

Pisani also said he picked the form of the blog because it will be accessible to the public and is the fastest way to create an interactive space of discussion.

"The ultimate objective of a blog is to create a conversation space-a place of discussion with a Chinese person, a French person and an Indonesian person all at once-that would be extraordinary," Pisani said.

As part of the project, students will individually track people's attitudes in different geographical areas and specific countries based on the languages they speak.

Pisani said he hopes the blog will attract journalists, scholars and alumni from around the world to participate and contribute posts.

With a strong body of contributors, the project will offer a look at how U.S. foreign policy has influenced the international community's view of the nation, he said.

Student bloggers said the blog can ultimately provide insight into the implications of the nation's actions.

"It's important for Americans to see what is being said about them," said Najla Benmbarek, a participating graduate student. "The more we find out, the more we can understand."

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