Defining and Questioning

As I was reading Asen and Brouwer’s Introduction, I found much of the information to be new (to me) and fascinating. I especially appreciated some of the definitions included in the text:

Counterpublic spheres (Felski): “critical oppositional forces that seek to disrupt the homogenizing and universalizing processes of a global mass-communication culture that promotes an uncritical consumerism” (p. 7).

Counterpublics (Fraser): “parallel discursive arenas where members of subordinated social groups invent and circulate counterdiscourses to formulate oppositional interpretations of their identities, interests and needs” (p. 7).

Public: “may indicate something potentially open to all (as in the bourgeois public sphere), potentially concerning all (as in matters of public interest), potentially known to all (as in public information), potentially constituted by all (as in the general public), and potential movemet toward all (as in attempts to publicize matters)” (p. 9).

Public Discourse (Benhabib): “consists of challenging and redefining established notions of the common good” (p. 10).

Public Sphere (Schudson): includes “a set of activities that constitute a democratic society’s self-reflection and self-governance” (p. 15).

International public sphere (global public sphere/cosmopolitan public sphere/cosmopolitan democracy): “a forum wherein vastly dispersed individuals of a multitude of ranks, roles, and races might come together for deliberation” (p. 23).

Also, because some of the information is outdated, I began considering how the internet (or NCTs) has dramatically changed the public sphere. After reading Asen and Brouwer’s piece, I seemed to come away with more questions than anything else (which is why I especially valued the definitions above!). Here are several (straight from the text) that would be interesting to explore:
1. “How large and dispersed can a population be and still resemble an enduring ‘community?’” (p. 23).
2. “To what extent can communication technologies facilitate such a community?” (p. 23).