Overview

Initially propounded by the philosopher Jürgen Habermas in 1962 in order to describe the realm of social discourse between the state on one hand, and the private sphere of the market and the family on the other, the concept of a bourgeois public sphere quickly became a central point of reference in the humanities and social sciences. This volume reassesses the validity and reach of Habermas’s concept beyond political theory by exploring concrete literary and cultural manifestations in early modern and modern Europe. The contributors ask whether, and in what forms, a social formation that rightfully can be called the “public sphere” really existed at particular historical junctures, and consider the senses in which the “public sphere” should rather be replaced by a multitude of interacting cultural and social “publics.” This volume offers insights into the current status of the “public sphere” within the disciplinary formation of the humanities and social sciences at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

Full Product Details

Author:   Christian J. Emden ,  David Midgley
Publisher:   Berghahn Books
Imprint:   Berghahn Books
Weight:   0.435kg
ISBN:  

9780857455000

ISBN 10:   0857455001
Pages:   222
Publication Date:   01 July 2012
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Introduction: Changing Perceptions of the Public Sphere Christian J. Emden and David Midgley Part I: Publics Before the Public Sphere Chapter 1. A Public Sphere before Kant? Habermas and the Historians of Early Modern Germany Joachim Whaley Chapter 2. Kunigunde of Bavaria and the “Conquest of Regensburg”: Politics, Gender, and the Public Sphere in 1489 Sarah Westphal Chapter 3. Publishing the Private in Early Modern Europe: The Rise of Secret History Peter Burke Part II: Thinking about Enlightenment Publics Chapter 4. Private, Public, and Structural Change: The German Problem Nicholas Boyle Chapter 5. The Second Life of the “Public Sphere”: On Charisma and Routinization in the History of a Concept John H. Zammito Part III: Cultural Politics and Literary Publics Chapter 6. Probing the Limits: The Contribution of Literary Writing to Defining the Public Sphere David Midgley Chapter 7. Habermas Anticipated: The Eighteenth-Century Public Sphere as “Theatre of the World” in Edward Lytton Bulwer’s Devereux (1829) and Karl Gutzkow’s Richard Savage (1839) Martina Lauster Chapter 8. Karl Kraus and the Transformation of the Public Sphere in Early Twentieth-Century Vienna Edward Timms Notes on Contributors Bibliography Index

Reviews

An impressive collection of essays with contributions from a stellar cast, including leading authorities from a variety of disciplines, notably cultural, intellectual and literary history... nicely balanced, [the volume] does justice to the richness and complexity of Habermas's ideas and offers fresh perspectives on its heuristic uses. * Martin A. Ruehl, Cambridge University

Author Information

Christian J. Emden is Associate Professor of German Intellectual History and Political Thought at Rice University.

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