Gary Rawnsley
@garydrawnsley.bsky.social
Head of the School of Social & Political Sciences, University of Lincoln. Research on propaganda, public diplomacy, cultural diplomacy & soft power. Lover of all things literary. Has Crohn’s Disease. Views expressed here are mine & mine alone.
Pinned
Gary Rawnsley
@garydrawnsley.bsky.social
· Aug 29
Routledge Handbook of Chinese Media
The new, second edition of this successful Handbook explores the growing and evolving field of Chinese media, offering a window through which to observe multi-directional flows of information, culture...
www.routledge.com
Now available - the 2nd edition of my co-edited Routledge Handbook of Chinese Media. Covering the PRC, Hong Kong, Taiwan, & Macao + impact of Covid on the media, communications, & information landscape. More details available here: www.routledge.com/Routledge-Ha...
When does a robbery become a ‘heist’? Surely it is only a heist when masterminded by Michael Caine & involves a fleet of minis?
December 30, 2025 at 8:54 PM
When does a robbery become a ‘heist’? Surely it is only a heist when masterminded by Michael Caine & involves a fleet of minis?
The UK's soft power: the experience of visitors, many of them from overseas, at the Houses of Parliament.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
'It has the X-factor' - the view from the Commons public gallery
Who would choose to spend the day watching MPs talking? We spent a day in the visitors' gallery to find out.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 29, 2025 at 8:22 PM
The UK's soft power: the experience of visitors, many of them from overseas, at the Houses of Parliament.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Lost count of my re-watches. Didn't like the Zoe kidnapping story, but that was a minor blip. I also think that Arnie Vinick should have won in Season 7. BUT still brilliant and the photo you show is from one of my favourite episodes. Poor Mrs Landingham and the story of her "boys".
December 24, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Lost count of my re-watches. Didn't like the Zoe kidnapping story, but that was a minor blip. I also think that Arnie Vinick should have won in Season 7. BUT still brilliant and the photo you show is from one of my favourite episodes. Poor Mrs Landingham and the story of her "boys".
In 2012 I wrote this blog about a 1955 radio programme, hosted by Bing Crosby & broadcast around the world by the Voice of America. At the end of an awful year for #VoA I repost it here & send my best wishes to everyone associated with that remarkable station wwwpdic.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-ch...
A Christmas Sing with Bing
Christmas has a smell. For some, it may be mince pies or a turkey roasting in the oven; for others, pine or holly. For me, Christmas smells ...
wwwpdic.blogspot.com
December 21, 2025 at 6:45 PM
In 2012 I wrote this blog about a 1955 radio programme, hosted by Bing Crosby & broadcast around the world by the Voice of America. At the end of an awful year for #VoA I repost it here & send my best wishes to everyone associated with that remarkable station wwwpdic.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-ch...
Grew up listening to Bing Crosby Christmas albums from the 1950s. One song was Happy Holidays - doesn’t mention Xmas once
December 20, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Grew up listening to Bing Crosby Christmas albums from the 1950s. One song was Happy Holidays - doesn’t mention Xmas once
‘Better off with #Taiwan’: Honduras joins other Latin American countries rethinking ties with #China’ - effect of broken promises & shifting geopolitics
‘Better off with Taiwan’: Honduras joins other Latin American countries rethinking ties with China
‘Better off with Taiwan’: Honduras joins other Latin American countries rethinking ties with China
US pressure, broken promises by China and corruption scandals have halted Taiwan’s slide to diplomatic irrelevance in the region
www.theguardian.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Reflecting & communicating #Taiwan’s considerable soft power @audreyt.org discusses how she has built Taiwan’s digital diplomacy capacity & safeguards democratic resilience
December 19, 2025 at 5:52 AM
Reflecting & communicating #Taiwan’s considerable soft power @audreyt.org discusses how she has built Taiwan’s digital diplomacy capacity & safeguards democratic resilience
An excellent blog by Neal Rosendorf that presents 'A Post-Trump Domestic Policy Roadmap to Restore U.S. Soft Power. The author understands that soft power is not based on culture but on political institutions, values, behaviours & a recommitment to democracy. uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/post-tr...
A Post-Trump Domestic Policy Roadmap to Restore U.S. Soft Power
Neal Rosendorf outlines a post-Trump bipartisan plan to restore America’s reputation and soft power.
uscpublicdiplomacy.org
December 16, 2025 at 6:15 PM
An excellent blog by Neal Rosendorf that presents 'A Post-Trump Domestic Policy Roadmap to Restore U.S. Soft Power. The author understands that soft power is not based on culture but on political institutions, values, behaviours & a recommitment to democracy. uscpublicdiplomacy.org/blog/post-tr...
Delighted my new article published by Social & Cultural History is available open access. The title is 'Chance of a Lifetime (1950): Class, Collaboration, & the Shifting Landscape of British Cinema'. Many thanks to all who gave feedback especially the reviewers. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Chance of a Lifetime (1950): Class, Collaboration, and the Shifting Landscape of British Cinema
Chance of a Lifetime (1950) examines entrenched class hierarchies while dramatising the socio-economic realities of post-war Britain. This article explores how the film reframes class relations thr...
www.tandfonline.com
December 16, 2025 at 6:56 AM
Delighted my new article published by Social & Cultural History is available open access. The title is 'Chance of a Lifetime (1950): Class, Collaboration, & the Shifting Landscape of British Cinema'. Many thanks to all who gave feedback especially the reviewers. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Very sad to learn John Carey has died. A towering intellect & a champion of the arts. Love his What Good are the Arts? and his memoir, An Unexpected Professor.
December 13, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Very sad to learn John Carey has died. A towering intellect & a champion of the arts. Love his What Good are the Arts? and his memoir, An Unexpected Professor.
Following the recent wonderful @empirepoduk.bsky.social miniseries on Rudyard Kipling, just picked up my copy of Andrew Lycett's biography. That's my Xmas reading sorted! @anitaanand.bsky.social @willdalrymple.bsky.social
December 13, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Following the recent wonderful @empirepoduk.bsky.social miniseries on Rudyard Kipling, just picked up my copy of Andrew Lycett's biography. That's my Xmas reading sorted! @anitaanand.bsky.social @willdalrymple.bsky.social
I really recommend Left Handed Girl. Amazing performances by the three main actresses but Nina Ye is outstanding; and an incredible number of supporting actors (Chao Xin-Yan especially). Heartbreaking, uplifting, inspirational, funny.
This movie helped me understand myself and my background and my upbringing in a way that I have yet to fully process.
Amazing filmmaking and the left-handed girl will steal your heart.
Amazing filmmaking and the left-handed girl will steal your heart.
December 12, 2025 at 7:41 PM
I really recommend Left Handed Girl. Amazing performances by the three main actresses but Nina Ye is outstanding; and an incredible number of supporting actors (Chao Xin-Yan especially). Heartbreaking, uplifting, inspirational, funny.
Many thanks to HE The Deputy Ambassador of Kuwait for speaking with colleagues & students from the School of Social & Political Sciences. We discussed a range of issues, inc. history of Kuwait-UK diplomatic relations, education as an engine of deepening relations & role of experts in foreign policy
December 12, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Many thanks to HE The Deputy Ambassador of Kuwait for speaking with colleagues & students from the School of Social & Political Sciences. We discussed a range of issues, inc. history of Kuwait-UK diplomatic relations, education as an engine of deepening relations & role of experts in foreign policy
Loved this on a Sunday morning in the '70s. It is a forgotten gems of children's television.
December 12, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Loved this on a Sunday morning in the '70s. It is a forgotten gems of children's television.
👇 Happening tomorrow (Friday). There is still time to register ...
Join us on 12 December as the School of Social & Political Sciences, University of Lincoln, hosts a discussion with the Deputy Ambassador of the Embassy of Kuwait ("Bridging Academia & Diplomacy"). Register here:
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
forms.office.com/pages/respon...
December 11, 2025 at 3:22 PM
👇 Happening tomorrow (Friday). There is still time to register ...
An interesting blog from Austin Paul writing for @lseblogs.bsky.social on the Soft Power of the Papacy. Focus on behaviours and values - real source of soft power. blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglob...
Soft Power and the Papacy: Pope Francis in the Context of Right-Wing Populist Nationalism in Italy and Europe - Religion and Global Society
Since Pope Francis’ death and the election of new Pope Robert Francis Prevost (Leo XIV), discussions have ensued amongst scholars on the relevance of the papacy in modern-day international relations. ...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
December 9, 2025 at 6:16 PM
An interesting blog from Austin Paul writing for @lseblogs.bsky.social on the Soft Power of the Papacy. Focus on behaviours and values - real source of soft power. blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglob...
Just finished Don't Burn Anyone at the Stake Today by @naomialderman.bsky.social. One of the most meaningful books I have read in a while - one that has made me pause & reflect on my own behaviours. Also timely on the day #Australia begins its ban on children using most social media.
December 9, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Just finished Don't Burn Anyone at the Stake Today by @naomialderman.bsky.social. One of the most meaningful books I have read in a while - one that has made me pause & reflect on my own behaviours. Also timely on the day #Australia begins its ban on children using most social media.
Post a book you love from the 80s. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky #bookchallenge #readingchallenge #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #books
#BookSky #bookchallenge #readingchallenge #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #books
December 9, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Post a book you love from the 80s. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky #bookchallenge #readingchallenge #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #books
#BookSky #bookchallenge #readingchallenge #readingcommunity #booktok #bookish #books
A powerful indictment of the lack of progress for women in South Korea & elsewhere - in the workplace, school, & at home. The final sentence will stay with me. #booksky
December 8, 2025 at 5:29 PM
A powerful indictment of the lack of progress for women in South Korea & elsewhere - in the workplace, school, & at home. The final sentence will stay with me. #booksky
Call for Papers! The new journal Politics & Security Governance is planning a special issue on Digital Maoism: The Revival of Left Populism, Cultural Memory, & Coded Resistance in Contemporary #China. More details here porcelainpublishing.com/journal/PSG/...
December 8, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Call for Papers! The new journal Politics & Security Governance is planning a special issue on Digital Maoism: The Revival of Left Populism, Cultural Memory, & Coded Resistance in Contemporary #China. More details here porcelainpublishing.com/journal/PSG/...
What a wonderful documentary film. Belated happy 100th birthday, @newyorker.com Never stop being élitist (see what I did there?) @netflix.com
December 7, 2025 at 10:07 PM
What a wonderful documentary film. Belated happy 100th birthday, @newyorker.com Never stop being élitist (see what I did there?) @netflix.com
Congratulations to everyone Beijing decides has won the election in Hong Kong www.bbc.com/news/article...
LegCo: Hong Kong votes in election as city mourns deadly fire - BBC News
The Legislative Council election is seen as a test of public sentiment following a deadly fire.
www.bbc.com
December 7, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Congratulations to everyone Beijing decides has won the election in Hong Kong www.bbc.com/news/article...
As #Crohns & Colitis Awareness Week draws to a close, it is important to understand our experiences of #IBD. Thanks to @crohnscolitisfdn.bsky.social @getyourbellyout.bsky.social for all your work & support
December 6, 2025 at 4:12 PM
As #Crohns & Colitis Awareness Week draws to a close, it is important to understand our experiences of #IBD. Thanks to @crohnscolitisfdn.bsky.social @getyourbellyout.bsky.social for all your work & support
Anyone who loves literature, books, authors, & listening to authors talk about their work & writing process, listen to the Always Take Notes podcast. Following their conversation with Paul Theroux I have just finished Burma Sahib. So many great recommendations here #booksky
December 6, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Anyone who loves literature, books, authors, & listening to authors talk about their work & writing process, listen to the Always Take Notes podcast. Following their conversation with Paul Theroux I have just finished Burma Sahib. So many great recommendations here #booksky