Public Sphere

Definition: A shared space where individuals come together in order to share, test and form collective opinion. The use of this shared space is often devoted to coming to one rational agreement between all the individuals who also speak on an even plain of society. There is also a heavy inclination that the public sphere must be used for face to face conversation.

Example: As we discussed during class the public sphere has roots all the way back to the origins of western democracy in Greece. The concept of the Agora, or "gathering place", fits as a historical example for a public sphere.  It was here that the "specific" citizens allowed to contribute to these talks would converse on all topics, politics, local happenings, trivial conversations, etc... and attempt to not only spread information but come to some consensus. In a more contemporary example I would even consider online sites that allow an unlimited amount of people to talk to each other on an even platform such as Facebook, Reddit, forums, etc.

From the Text: Deluca and Peeples talk about the public sphere by breaking it up into several characteristics, "The public sphere mediates between civil society and the state, with the expression of public opinion working to both legitimate and check the power of the state. This public opinion is decidedly rational" (Deluca and Peeples 185). They make use of the public sphere in the very specific utilization for political discourse. The article then notes that the public sphere, "assumes open access, the bracketing of social inequalities, rational discussion, focus on common issues, face to face conversation as the privileged medium, and the ability to achieve consensus" so the rules to categorize a public sphere are pretty specific according to them (Deluca and Peeples 185). Finally the last thing the article seems to suggest about the public sphere is that although the use of public sphere conversations are a thing of the past, they still hold an important use in contemporary society.

Work Cited:
DeLuca, Kevin M and Jennifer Peeples, "From Public Sphere to Public Screen: Democracy, Activism, and the 'Violence' of Seattle." Tactics for External Audiences. 2002.