soft-power

Former Gitmo detainees help al-Qaida grow in Yemen (AP via Yahoo! News)

As a prisoner at Guantanamo, Said Ali al-Shihri said he wanted freedom so he could go home to Saudi Arabia and work at his family’s furniture store.

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Former Gitmo detainees help al-Qaida grow in Yemen (AP via Yahoo! News)

soft-power

Publishers Look to China for the Next Bestseller (Newsweek)

In recent years, China has increasingly flaunted its soft power, winning notice for its bold contemporary art and epic films featuring flying swordsmen. But when it comes to literature, the country is still struggling to make its mark. In 2008, 275,000 titles were published in China and 6.9 billion books printed, generating sales of €7.5 billion

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Publishers Look to China for the Next Bestseller (Newsweek)

soft-power

New spin to soft power: Indian ’stree’ smartness lights up Obama dinner (The Times of India)

To the growing body of literature on soft power, add another component - India’s ’stree’ smartness. It was on full display at the White House on Tuesday night.

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New spin to soft power: Indian ’stree’ smartness lights up Obama dinner (The Times of India)

soft-power

Three departments team up for Creative Nonfiction Week (The Columbia Chronicle)

Pulitzer Prize finalist and local Chicago writer Luis Alberto Urrea will speak to students, faculty, staff and the public for Columbia’s ninth annual Creative Nonfiction Week. Creative Nonfiction Week will have various activities and events that stress the importance and relevance of the broad literature genre in a modern society. Creative Nonfiction Week, Oct

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Three departments team up for Creative Nonfiction Week (The Columbia Chronicle)

soft-power

China’s export of its culture stumbles amid State control (The Malaysian Insider)

FRANKFURT , Oct 19 — As China extends its economic reach, it has also increased efforts to promote its culture, or “soft power,” to counter Western influence and improve its image in the wider world. Yet if Chinese goods are accepted everywhere, its arts and literature, embattled at home after decades of censorship and state control, are proving harder for the government to export. After years …

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China’s export of its culture stumbles amid State control (The Malaysian Insider)