This document discusses the public sphere and how it has changed over time. It begins with an informal survey about internet and social media usage. It then provides background on Jurgen Habermas, the German philosopher who developed the concept of the public sphere. According to Habermas, the public sphere used to be a space for open discussion and consensus building, but it has since declined with the rise of mass media, public relations, advertising, and corporate influence over communication institutions. The document lists criteria for a successful public sphere and investigates who participates and what types of activities and practices are involved in the modern public sphere.
2. Informal Survey
1: Are you using the Internet ?
a: Once a week
b: Several times a week
c: Once a day or more
(d: ”All the time”)
2: Are you using Social Networking Sites?
a: Facebook
b: Twitter
c: MySpace
d: Flickr
e: Local variants (Vkontakte, StudiVZ etc)
f: Topical variants (LinkedIn, Acadmia)
0: Do you want to participate in a short survey? 4 Questions
3. 3: Do you share information on the Internet?
a: Discussions online - Newsgroup
b: Homepage - Blog
c: Social Networking Sites
d: Colaborated encyclopedi (wikipedia, )
e: Consumer reviews - Ratings
4: Do you use Web services in your research work?
a: Search Engines
b: Social Networking Sites
c: Colaborated encyclopedi
d: Blogs
4. The Public Sphere
Jürgen Habermas (1929 - )
Nic*Rad @ Flickr
German Philospher
Critical Theory
Communicative rationality
Public Sphere
Influenced by Adorno, Horkheimer
(Frankfurt IfSR), Kant, Marx, Hegel
University of Marburg, University of
Heidelberg, Max Planck in Starnberg
7th most cited author in humanities
(Times Higher Education Guide)
6. ”The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere”
(1962 & 1989)
- Decline of the public spheres and democracy.
- Sphere of manipulations (PR, advertisers, NGO)
- Spectator politics through media.
- Corporations take over the institutions of
communication
- Commodification of news media
- Control by mass media
- Consumer citizens / clients
7. 18th & 19th Century 1900s and onward Now and beyond
?
Many newspapers,
Open discussions,
Rationality,
Arguments,
Concensus
Number of newspaper
decreased,
Closed governments
Institutionalized
8. Success criterion for Public sphere
• the extent of access (as close to universal as
possible)
• the degree of autonomy (the citizens must be
free of coercion)
• the rejection of hierarchy (so that each might
participate on an equal footing)
• the rule of law (particularly the subordination of
the state)
• and the quality of participation (the common
commitment to the ways of logic)
(Rutherford)
