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THE IRONIES OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
MAY 20, 2012
 Posted by R.S. Zaharna
All posts by R.S. Zaharna


On Thursday, May 17, 2012 I attended the discussion on “Digital Diplomacy: A New Era of Advancing Policy” at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington and on Twitter at #digidiplomacy. Carnegie had already posted video and audio of the event by early afternoon. USC MPD alumnus Matthew Wallin blogged his assessment of the discussion shortly there after. Being the academic dinosaur that I am at heart, I came home typed up all my notes. Then, as an exercise to help me develop my social media skills, I compared my notes to the Twitter feed. My next step was…... Full Text
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CULTURE POSTS: OSCAR LESSONS IN THE PERSUASIVE POWER OF STORIES AND STORYTELLING
MAR 8, 2012
 Posted by R.S. Zaharna
All posts by R.S. Zaharna


When Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi took the stage to accept the Oscar for A Separation, he spoke of his film as a counter narrative to talk of war and offer a view of Iran “through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics.” During times of escalating political rhetoric, films can help shape and, as Farhadi hopes, reshape national images. For public diplomacy, the Oscars offer lessons not only in culture, but in the persuasive power of storytelling. In past Culture Posts I talked about the inherent features of art…... Full Text
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CULTURE POSTS: CAPTURING THE AHH AND AHA! EXPERIENCE IN CULTURAL DIPLOMACY
JAN 9, 2012
 Posted by R.S. Zaharna
All posts by R.S. Zaharna


In previous Culture Posts, I talked about the goal of developing an “in-awareness” approach to culture in public diplomacy. In the comments section, as well as other CPD posts, important observations have been raised about the challenges of cultural diplomacy. Developing a stronger “in-awareness” approach may be the key to designing and implementing rewarding cultural diplomacy initiatives. In this post I discuss the idea of thinking about culture as a concrete noun as one way to develop awareness. Culture as a Concrete Noun When I talk about culture, some may immediately ask, what is culture? That question may be easier…... Full Text
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CULTURE POSTS: DEVELOPING CULTURAL IN-AWARENESS IN PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
DEC 28, 2011
 Posted by R.S. Zaharna
All posts by R.S. Zaharna


One of the goals of this blog series is to develop greater awareness and knowledge of how culture intervenes in public diplomacy. In public diplomacy, culture’s web of influence spans across policy, practice, and research, and encompasses both sponsor and intended public. The problem is that much of culture’s influence lays “out-of-awareness” for both the sponsor and the intended public in public diplomacy. As further irony, the sponsor and the public may have some awareness of the other’s cultural features, but are often unable to see culture’s influence on themselves. These hidden aspects tend to be the source of cultural…... Full Text
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CULTURE POSTS: EXPLORING THE CULTURAL UNDERBELLY OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
NOV 14, 2011
 Posted by R.S. Zaharna
All posts by R.S. Zaharna


Welcome to the opening entry of Culture Posts, an interactive blog for exploring the cultural underbelly of public diplomacy. Over the next two years, I hope that you will join me, collecting and discussing your insights on the hidden, and often times not so hidden, aspects of culture in public diplomacy. The Multiples faces of Culture Culture, as an underlying force that shapes global public diplomacy, remains curiously unexplored. Most focus on the positive, visible side of culture. As a soft power resource, culture is often viewed as a product for export that can help improve a country’s image. In…... Full Text
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