Dr. Katherine Brown and the cover of her book, ‘your country, our war,’ published earlier this year. Brown will speak at Connecticut College on Tuesday, Nov. 12.

WATERFORD, CT – The Southeast Connecticut World Affairs Council (SECWAC) has announced that Katherine Brown is to speak on her experiences as an embassy press aide in Afghanistan at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the Crozier Williams Student Center at Connecticut College, 270 Mohegan Ave Pkwy, New London, CT.

Based on eight years of interviews in Kabul, Washington, and New York, Brown’s book, “Your Country, Our War: The Press and Diplomacy in Afghanistan,” (copies of which will be on sale after the presentation) demonstrates how news intersects with international politics and shows the global power and reach of the U.S. news media, especially within the context of the post-9/11 era. It reviews the trajectory of the U.S. news narrative about Afghanistan and how U.S. journalists affected the diplomacy between the two countries.

The book also examines the rise of Afghan journalism, from 2001 to 2017, chronicling local reporters’ rapid development and how they grappled daily with how to define themselves and their country during a tumultuous and uneven transition from fundamentalist to democratic rule. Providing rich detail about the U.S.-Afghan relationship, especially former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai’s convictions about the role of the Western press, we begin to understand how journalists are not merely observers to a story; they are participants in it.

Dr. Brown will also discuss the U.S. government’s public diplomacy work in the country and the value of international exchange programs to support U.S. national security.

A reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the main event beginning at 6:00 p.m. The presentation is a part of the SECWAC 2019-2020 Speaker Series. For non-members, tickets ($20) may be purchased at the door; ticket cost can subsequently be applied towards a SECWAC membership.  Attendance is free for SECWAC members (and their guests). Membership September 2019 through June 2020 is $85 per person; $25 for young professionals under 35; free for educators and students; a corporate rate of $1,000 is also available, with unlimited access for employees.

Note:  there will not be a post-presentation dinner on this occasion.

Members and guests can pre-register for the presentation at https://scwac.wildapricot.org/event-3528948.

Dr. Brown is the President & CEO of Global Ties U.S., the largest and oldest citizen diplomacy network in the United States. She is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Georgetown University. Previously, she was a Public Policy Manager at Facebook, Inc., where she was also in residence as a Council on Foreign Relations’ (CFR) International Affairs Fellow, and served as the Executive Director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.

Dr. Brown began her career in the National Security Council at the White House and first traveled to Afghanistan in 2003 as a U.S. embassy press aide, to return several times over 13 years. She received her Ph.D. in communications from Columbia University in 2013. Her book, “Your Country, Our War: The Press and Diplomacy in Afghanistan” was released by Oxford University Press in March 2019.

SECWAC is a regional, nonprofit, membership organization affiliated with the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA). The organization dates back to 1999, and has continued to arrange 8-10 Speaker Series meetings annually, between September and June. The meetings range in foreign affairs topics, and are hosted at venues along the I-95 corridor, welcoming members and guests from Stonington to Old Saybrook, and beyond.

SECWAC’s mission is “to foster an understanding of issues of foreign policy and international affairs through study, debate, and educational programming.” It provides a forum for nonpartisan, non-advocacy dialogue between members and speakers, who can be U.S. policymakers, educators, authors, and other experts on foreign relations. Learn more at http://secwac.org.