Open AccessThe public sphere in the twilight zone of publicness
Author(s) -
Slávko Splichal
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
european journal of communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.96
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1460-3705
pISSN - 0267-3231
DOI - 10.1177/02673231211061490
Subject(s) - public sphere , popularity , ideology , sociology , social sphere , politics , public discourse , social science , epistemology , political economy , media studies , political science , law , philosophy
The article discusses the reasons and conditions for the rise and fall of the popularity of the public sphere concept in scholarly discourse in four parts. The first part examines the peculiar circumstances of the emergence of the concept of the public sphere, and its rapid and widespread adoption in the social sciences. The second part discusses the complexity of the concept “Öffentlichkeit” and its English proxy “the public sphere,” and the contemporary critique of its ideological predispositions. The third part focuses on the liberalization and (operational) banalization of the concept. The final part suggests ways in which social scientists could respond critically to the challenges outlined earlier and reintegrate publicness, the public, and the public sphere into the analysis.