Catherine Owen
@catherineowen.bsky.social
Associate Prof of International Relations, Uni of Exeter. Researches participation, governance, knowledge production, Eurasia. Cyclist. Junglist. Tea obsessive. Constantly restless. Green 🌱
Incredible! A Great Blue (I think?) heron calmly surveys its kingdom - a small pond next to a busy London high street. Is it lost, or has to chosen to live here?
October 24, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Incredible! A Great Blue (I think?) heron calmly surveys its kingdom - a small pond next to a busy London high street. Is it lost, or has to chosen to live here?
It’s fantastic to be back in Shanghai for the 23rd Conference on International Exchange of Professionals, at the invitation of Shanghai International Studies University. Our section, organised by Prof Yang Cheng, explores global trends in the study of Eurasia.
October 21, 2025 at 3:17 AM
It’s fantastic to be back in Shanghai for the 23rd Conference on International Exchange of Professionals, at the invitation of Shanghai International Studies University. Our section, organised by Prof Yang Cheng, explores global trends in the study of Eurasia.
Breath-taking landscapes on Exmoor this weekend 🤩
August 31, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Breath-taking landscapes on Exmoor this weekend 🤩
Reminds me of the book I recently finished: Red Friends by John Sexton. An utterly riveting account of the commited internationalists from around the world who helped China fight Japan and build socialism, including numerous Japanese people and groups. 💯Recommend!
August 15, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Reminds me of the book I recently finished: Red Friends by John Sexton. An utterly riveting account of the commited internationalists from around the world who helped China fight Japan and build socialism, including numerous Japanese people and groups. 💯Recommend!
My first proper stadium gig. What a spine-tingling, indescribable feeling to stand in a crowd of 90,000 people singing the same lyrics that we all know off by heart #Oasis25
August 4, 2025 at 6:25 PM
My first proper stadium gig. What a spine-tingling, indescribable feeling to stand in a crowd of 90,000 people singing the same lyrics that we all know off by heart #Oasis25
Back home after an insiring week at the 4th International Tsinghua Area Studies Forum, in which Area Studies scholars from across the world presented their research in thematic panels. A great way to overcome regional silos and identify common patterns and processes - a really excellent conference 🤩
July 7, 2025 at 5:18 AM
Back home after an insiring week at the 4th International Tsinghua Area Studies Forum, in which Area Studies scholars from across the world presented their research in thematic panels. A great way to overcome regional silos and identify common patterns and processes - a really excellent conference 🤩
Fascinating talk tomorrow @hass-cornwall.bsky.social Dr Kevin Yang (York) explains how a group of leftwing Hong Kong youths—inc. anarchists & Trotskyists—inspired by the 1960s global New Left movement, became politically radicalised in the British colony, organising against colonialism & capitalism
June 24, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Fascinating talk tomorrow @hass-cornwall.bsky.social Dr Kevin Yang (York) explains how a group of leftwing Hong Kong youths—inc. anarchists & Trotskyists—inspired by the 1960s global New Left movement, became politically radicalised in the British colony, organising against colonialism & capitalism
Reflecting on last week’s European Society for Central Asian Studies conference in Tashkent and Samarkand last week, and I am reminded of an enduring (if provocative) truth: Area Studies conferences are so much more enriching and enjoyable than disciplinary conferences!
June 20, 2025 at 5:34 AM
Reflecting on last week’s European Society for Central Asian Studies conference in Tashkent and Samarkand last week, and I am reminded of an enduring (if provocative) truth: Area Studies conferences are so much more enriching and enjoyable than disciplinary conferences!
I’m in Tashkent for the European Society of Central Asian Studies conference, which starts tomorrow! But first I obviously have to sample the incredible fruits, pickles, nuts, samsa, tea, kurut, ayran, corn-on-the-cob in the glorious markets!
June 12, 2025 at 11:50 AM
I’m in Tashkent for the European Society of Central Asian Studies conference, which starts tomorrow! But first I obviously have to sample the incredible fruits, pickles, nuts, samsa, tea, kurut, ayran, corn-on-the-cob in the glorious markets!
On 22 May we are launching @exeter.ac.uk 's new interdisciplinary Centre for Eastern European and Eurasian Studies, with a fantastic line-up of leading scholars of the region! More information about ECEEES here: www.exeter.ac.uk/research/cen...
@uniofexeterhass.bsky.social @cais-exeter.bsky.social
@uniofexeterhass.bsky.social @cais-exeter.bsky.social
May 6, 2025 at 4:09 PM
On 22 May we are launching @exeter.ac.uk 's new interdisciplinary Centre for Eastern European and Eurasian Studies, with a fantastic line-up of leading scholars of the region! More information about ECEEES here: www.exeter.ac.uk/research/cen...
@uniofexeterhass.bsky.social @cais-exeter.bsky.social
@uniofexeterhass.bsky.social @cais-exeter.bsky.social
Yesterday I saw St Michael’s Mount by boat from its sea-facing side: stunning, gothic and mysterious!
May 2, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Yesterday I saw St Michael’s Mount by boat from its sea-facing side: stunning, gothic and mysterious!
It’s great to welcome Dr Shi Jing from the Institute of International and Area Studies to our department @hass-cornwall.bsky.social Shi Jing works on the international politics of the Caucasus region - looking forward to many interesting conversations! @xiananj.bsky.social
April 29, 2025 at 5:45 PM
It’s great to welcome Dr Shi Jing from the Institute of International and Area Studies to our department @hass-cornwall.bsky.social Shi Jing works on the international politics of the Caucasus region - looking forward to many interesting conversations! @xiananj.bsky.social
Primal Scream, live at Bristol Beacon 31st March. The soundtrack to my 20s - still brilliant and electrifying after so many years 🤩
April 1, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Primal Scream, live at Bristol Beacon 31st March. The soundtrack to my 20s - still brilliant and electrifying after so many years 🤩
Happening today! Really looking forward to Suraj Bhaskarrao Telange’s talk on ethnographic knowledge production, drawing on his in-depth fieldwork on labour relations in Amazon warehouses in India @surajtelange.bsky.social @hass-cornwall.bsky.social @exetersouthasia.bsky.social All welcome!
March 21, 2025 at 9:42 AM
Happening today! Really looking forward to Suraj Bhaskarrao Telange’s talk on ethnographic knowledge production, drawing on his in-depth fieldwork on labour relations in Amazon warehouses in India @surajtelange.bsky.social @hass-cornwall.bsky.social @exetersouthasia.bsky.social All welcome!
Just finished this book. I must admit it took me a while to get into it, but 100 pages in, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down, and now it’s over I feel bereft. Meticulous details of provincial life in working class China, and a deeper message about the importance of communication. Recommend 👍
March 15, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Just finished this book. I must admit it took me a while to get into it, but 100 pages in, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down, and now it’s over I feel bereft. Meticulous details of provincial life in working class China, and a deeper message about the importance of communication. Recommend 👍
Dinner with these two awesome scholars @xiananj.bsky.social and @zhengli-huang.bsky.social after Zhengli’s incredibly rich and thought-provoking talk on Chinese infrastructure development in Africa at HaSS Cornwall @hass-cornwall.bsky.social Cheers! 🥂
March 10, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Dinner with these two awesome scholars @xiananj.bsky.social and @zhengli-huang.bsky.social after Zhengli’s incredibly rich and thought-provoking talk on Chinese infrastructure development in Africa at HaSS Cornwall @hass-cornwall.bsky.social Cheers! 🥂
The best thing about living in Cornwall? The coast path, which never fails to fill me with awe and wonder 🌊🌞🥰
March 1, 2025 at 5:32 PM
The best thing about living in Cornwall? The coast path, which never fails to fill me with awe and wonder 🌊🌞🥰
Super interesting CfP from the Italian Political Science Association’s Standing Group on Political Regimes for a workshop in Milan on 6th June.
February 11, 2025 at 10:39 AM
Super interesting CfP from the Italian Political Science Association’s Standing Group on Political Regimes for a workshop in Milan on 6th June.
I loved living in Beijing, but living by the sea is pretty cool too 🌊☀️
January 13, 2025 at 8:01 AM
I loved living in Beijing, but living by the sea is pretty cool too 🌊☀️
What better way to greet 2025 than with a steaming bowl of egg and tomato noodles, topped with lashings of la jiao, from the local Hui canteen? Happy New Year, Bluesky! May 2025 bring more noodles for everyone!
January 1, 2025 at 10:14 AM
What better way to greet 2025 than with a steaming bowl of egg and tomato noodles, topped with lashings of la jiao, from the local Hui canteen? Happy New Year, Bluesky! May 2025 bring more noodles for everyone!
Incredible colours over Beijing's summer palace this afternoon as evening starts to fall. The lake became a mirror to the sky.
December 1, 2024 at 11:47 AM
Incredible colours over Beijing's summer palace this afternoon as evening starts to fall. The lake became a mirror to the sky.
The six Mother Trees of Da Hong Pao tea, Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province. These trees are more than 300 years old and have not been harvested since 2006. What a wonderful tea culture that venerates the Mother Tree!😍🌳
November 24, 2024 at 1:14 AM
The six Mother Trees of Da Hong Pao tea, Wuyi Mountain, Fujian Province. These trees are more than 300 years old and have not been harvested since 2006. What a wonderful tea culture that venerates the Mother Tree!😍🌳
Fascinating morning looking arond the China Community Construction Exhibition Centre in Shang Yang Shi Jie, Hangzhou, the birthplace of Residents’ Committes in China. A must see for urban grassroots governance geeks!
November 12, 2024 at 12:28 PM
Fascinating morning looking arond the China Community Construction Exhibition Centre in Shang Yang Shi Jie, Hangzhou, the birthplace of Residents’ Committes in China. A must see for urban grassroots governance geeks!
What extraordinary flowers chrysanthemums are! Gorgeous display at the Beijing Chrysanthemum Culture Festival at the Temple of Heaven
November 8, 2024 at 4:16 PM
What extraordinary flowers chrysanthemums are! Gorgeous display at the Beijing Chrysanthemum Culture Festival at the Temple of Heaven