Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Participation, representation and media system: Habermasian paths to the past

Lundell, Patrik LU (2010) In Culture Unbound. Journal of Current Cultural Research
Abstract
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,... (More)
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. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Culture Unbound. Journal of Current Cultural Research
publisher
Linköping University Electronic Press
ISSN
2000-1525
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Media history (012021004), Department of Communication and Media (HT) (LUR00050)
id
06cff55d-f67c-4c8b-b293-0984f5b74110 (old id 1567297)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 09:14:16
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:51:43
@article{06cff55d-f67c-4c8b-b293-0984f5b74110,
  abstract     = {{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.}},
  author       = {{Lundell, Patrik}},
  issn         = {{2000-1525}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Linköping University Electronic Press}},
  series       = {{Culture Unbound. Journal of Current Cultural Research}},
  title        = {{Participation, representation and media system: Habermasian paths to the past}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/5269168/4022485}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}