ICT Role in 21st Century Education & its Challenges.pptx
My slides for public sphere
1. Public Sphere in the 19 th
Century
• Matters of public concern became exclusive to „experts‟ – the authority.
• The common citizen was cut out from public decision-making
• New technologies brought discussion of the mobilising power of this bourgeoise.
• The electric telegraph (1837); telephone (1876); radio (1895) was invented
• However, these mediums were not broadcasting in a many-to-many fashion, more
like one to many. The public opinion was therefore moulded and directed by
whatever these mediums broadcasted.
2. • Radio and television had a frequency bandwidth limit, so different
producers would broadcast at the same wavelengths and the
signals would interfere with each other
• Shirky: “we have greatly overestimated the value of access to
information and underestimated the value of access to each
other” - Public lacked ability and will to own and interact with their
chosen media
• Theorist Manuel Castells writes “How the public sphere is
constituted and how it operates largely defines the structure and
dynamics of any given polity” (2008).
4. The Public Sphere and the
•
Internet
Enter The Internet - not confined within a frequency bandwidth but by an
arbitrary addressing system.
• Therefore, can provide a many-to-many medium which is accessible to all
citizens so that they can discuss matters of public concern in an unrestricted
environment “with guarantee of freedom of assembly and association and the
freedom to express and publish their opinions” (Habermas, 1964)
• Digital media as an aggregation tool whereby consumers can personalize
news from a wider range of online publishers. Eg/ Facebook, Youtube, Twitter
• Advantage: Has Freedom of choice and immediate access
• Growth of self publishers has helped with development of individual preferences
and the evolution of „news delivery‟ on a large scale
• The power of millions, articulating different journalistic choices affects the
publishing industry, and with this growth of content choice, new mediums of
distribution choice have rebounded.
5. The Public Sphere and the
Internet (Cont.)
• With the introduction of the Internet, the reality of owning the
medium becomes closer to being a possibility.
• The Internet – gives the user control for low costs with Internet
subscription fee, a computer and the necessary softwares.
• With these tools, we are able to broadcast ourselves, the Internet
has allowed us the ability to undermine the specific anti-
democratic forces within our society: CAPITALISM.
• Capitalism enables organisations to reach forward and control its
market, manage its behaviour and shape the social attitude of
those it serves.
6. The Public Sphere and the
Internet (Cont.)
• However! We are beginning to see anti –capitalistic
behaviour emerge throughout the Internet…
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBkuiChImb8
7. The Public Sphere and the
Internet (Cont.)
• Through the Internet, people
are using more creative ways
to add to the public sphere…
• Eg/ Blogging, online
commenting, forums and
Online audio broadcasting
and all your other social
networking sites
• Other advancements
include…
10. The Public Sphere and the
Internet (Cont.)
• There has been scholarly
speculations on the possibility of
the internet being privatised.
• However, the medium no longer
belongs exclusively to
corporations…
• If a popular website is
purchased by a large
cooperation (Eg/ Paywalls), and
begins to restrict its users from
activity, users can look for
alternative websites to obtain the
same resource or start their own
website.
11. Public Sphere and the
Internet
• The most adaptable and most basic
part of the public sphere we have is
conversation, this allows every
participating member to voice their
own ideas and listen to others.
• Even though the media are on a
much larger scale than in a
conversation, they are not nearly as
intricate.
• The Internet combines the intricacy of
the conversation with the scale of the
media, in relay chat, and also offers
other opinions to be evaluated and
relied onto on forums.
12. Conclusion
• While immediately, not everyone has access to the
Internet to distribute their own content, we are still
seeing the closest example to Habermas‟s public
sphere, through the media.
13. Question Time
• Do you think the public sphere will be achieved in
the future? Why?
• Is the Internet a better public sphere?
14. Reference
• Gordon, J. 2004, Does the Internet provide the
basis for a public sphere that approximates to
Habermas' vision?
• Calhoun, C. (ed.) (1992) Habermas and the Public
Sphere. Cambridge, MA:MIT Press
• Blinkx.com, viewed 8/4/2012<blinkx.com>
• Visual Bloke, Keep Talking The Power of Social
Networks, viewed 7/4/2012 <Keep Talking The
Power of Social Networks>
