Synopses & Reviews
Habermas is a hugely influential thinker, yet his writing can be dense and inaccessible. This critical introduction offers undergraduates a clear way into Habermass concept of the ‘public sphere and its relevance to contemporary society. Luke Goodes lively account also sheds new light on the ‘public sphere debate that will interest readers already familiar with Habermass work.For Habermas, the 'public sphere' was a social forum that allowed people to debate -- whether it was the town hall or the coffee house, maintaining a space for public debate was an essential part of democracy. Habermass controversial work examines the erosion of these spaces within consumer society and calls for new thinking about democracy today.Drawing on Habermass early and more recent writings, this book examines the ‘public sphere in its full complexity, outlining its relevance to todays media and culture. It will be of interest to students and scholars in a range of disciplines across the social sciences and humanities.
Synopsis
For scholars of communication, democracy and citizenship, who are seeking a clear and critical overview, this is a valuable and timely book. Political Studies Review
Synopsis
... brilliantly original ... brings cultural and post-colonial theory to bear on a wide range of authors with great skill and sensitivity.' Terry Eagleton
About the Author
Stephen Nugent is the head of the Anthropology Department at Goldsmiths College, University of London, a song writer (with Ian Dury) and the author (with Humphrey Ocean) of Big Mouth: The Amazon Speaks (Fourth Estate, 1990). Cris Shore is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Auckland (New Zealand). His most recent publications are: Up Close and Personal: On Peripheral Perspectives and the Production of Anthropological Knowledge', Oxford/New York: Berghahn (co-edited with Susanna Trnka, 2013) and 'The Sage Handbook of Social Anthropology'.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 - EXCAVATIONS: THE HISTORY OF A CONCEPT
i) Introduction
ii) The bourgeois public sphere
iii) The fall of the bourgeois public sphere
iv) Critical publicity and late capitalism
CHAPTER 2 - DISCURSIVE TESTING: THE PUBLIC SPHERE AND ITS CRITICS
i) Introduction
ii) Lessons from history
iii) Equality and emancipation
iv) Rationality and embodiment
CHAPTER 3 - RECONFIGURATIONS: THE PUBLIC SPHERE SINCE STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION
i) Introduction
ii) Scientism and politics
iii) System, lifew