The public sphere

In this unit you will explore a key theoretical concept in the field of media and communications studies - the public sphere - and consider key questions in media studies: what does media contribute to the realm of rational debate and how does this contribution facilitate public understanding of, and input to, policy and governance? In addressing these questions we will raise important matters concerned with citizenship, the rise of political populism globally, individual response to public issues and the relationship between opinion and informed debate. You will track the emergence of the theory of the public sphere, analyse the multiple uses and related applications of the concept, and explain how the public sphere relates to traditional and new communications and media environments.