The Public Sphere: An IntroductionWhat is happening to public debate in Western cultures? Is our public sphere disintegrating? In the face of popular tabloid newspapers, new forms of reality television and an increasing lack of respect for traditional authorities, many critics are concerned that our society no longer has a rational, informed and unified space where everyone can communicate about the issues that affect us all. In this book Alan McKee answers these questions by providing an introduction to the concept of the public sphere, the history of the term and the philosophical arguments about its function. By drawing on many examples from contemporary mediated culture, McKee looks at how we communicate with each other in public - and how we decide whether changing forms of communication are a good thing for the 'public sphere'. |
Contents
| 1 | |
Chapter 1 Trivialization | 32 |
Chapter 2 Commercialization | 66 |
Chapter 3 Spectacle | 105 |
Chapter 4 Fragmentation | 140 |
Chapter 5 Apathy | 172 |
Conclusion | 204 |
Further Reading | 217 |
Notes | 221 |
| 230 | |
| 260 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
academic writing accept Afrocentric attitude Attitude magazine Australia backgrounds Billionaires for Bush Black culture Calhoun Cambridge century Chapter citizens consumers Copi and Cohen cultural difference culture jamming Dahlgren democracy discussions downmarket equality everyday example fact favour feminism feminist writers forms of argument forms of communication forms of public Fraser Garnham Gitlin groups Habermas Habermas's Hartley Hoy and McCarthy ideal ideas identities important individual interests issues Jürgen Habermas lesbian logic London magazine mass media ment modern Nancy Fraser newspapers official public sphere paradigm perspective persuade Peter Dahlgren philosophers popular audiences popular culture position postmodern Press public communication public culture public debate Public Enemy Queer Nation Queer public sphere quoted rap music reality television sense sexual social movements society spectacular talk television there's things thinkers traditional traditionally trashy trivial University vote voter Western women writers argue youth