Participation, Representation and Media System: Habermasian Paths to the Past
Drawing from Swedish press history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the present article argues for further historical investigation into three aspects of Jürgen Habermas’ theory of the public sphere. The first concerns actual media participation, the second the representative features of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Linköping University Electronic Press
2010-11-01
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| Series: | Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/article/view/1938 |
| _version_ | 1811271491180822528 |
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| author | Patrik Lundell |
| author_facet | Patrik Lundell |
| author_sort | Patrik Lundell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Drawing from Swedish press history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the present article argues for further historical investigation into three aspects of Jürgen Habermas’ theory of the public sphere. The first concerns actual media participation, the second the representative features of media institutions, and the third media systems. These routes of analysis can and should be combined, and historical specificity is key. When we focus on concrete situations and places, the neat grand-scale chronologies (Habermas’ and others’) fall short. There is no simple development from a “representative publicness” to a participatory public sphere, and back again. And the media have always been interconnected in a system-like way. However, historical specificity does not exclude contemporary developments. The present conclusion is that if we are to gain any true understanding of contemporary phenomena, a historical perspective is crucial, and aspects of Habermas’ theory can serve as heuristic tools. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:20:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b139c4162a242e497ef26892ded6adf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2000-1525 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:20:46Z |
| publishDate | 2010-11-01 |
| publisher | Linköping University Electronic Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b139c4162a242e497ef26892ded6adf2022-12-22T03:14:22ZengLinköping University Electronic PressCulture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research2000-15252010-11-012410.3384/cu.2000.1525.10226435Participation, Representation and Media System: Habermasian Paths to the PastPatrik Lundell0Department of Communication and Media, Lund University, SwedenDrawing from Swedish press history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the present article argues for further historical investigation into three aspects of Jürgen Habermas’ theory of the public sphere. The first concerns actual media participation, the second the representative features of media institutions, and the third media systems. These routes of analysis can and should be combined, and historical specificity is key. When we focus on concrete situations and places, the neat grand-scale chronologies (Habermas’ and others’) fall short. There is no simple development from a “representative publicness” to a participatory public sphere, and back again. And the media have always been interconnected in a system-like way. However, historical specificity does not exclude contemporary developments. The present conclusion is that if we are to gain any true understanding of contemporary phenomena, a historical perspective is crucial, and aspects of Habermas’ theory can serve as heuristic tools.https://cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/article/view/1938Participatory mediarepresentationmedia systempublic sphereJürgen Habermaspress history |
| spellingShingle | Patrik Lundell Participation, Representation and Media System: Habermasian Paths to the Past Culture Unbound: Journal of Current Cultural Research Participatory media representation media system public sphere Jürgen Habermas press history |
| title | Participation, Representation and Media System: Habermasian Paths to the Past |
| title_full | Participation, Representation and Media System: Habermasian Paths to the Past |
| title_fullStr | Participation, Representation and Media System: Habermasian Paths to the Past |
| title_full_unstemmed | Participation, Representation and Media System: Habermasian Paths to the Past |
| title_short | Participation, Representation and Media System: Habermasian Paths to the Past |
| title_sort | participation representation and media system habermasian paths to the past |
| topic | Participatory media representation media system public sphere Jürgen Habermas press history |
| url | https://cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/article/view/1938 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT patriklundell participationrepresentationandmediasystemhabermasianpathstothepast |