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Habermas
German philosopher and creator of the concept of the public sphere.
his work tries to “complete the project of modernity”
wants to show the possibilities of reasoned discourse in contemporary society and culture
traces what “public” and “private” mean from the middle ages to the 18th century
public sphere
A realm of our social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed. -Not a physical space -Where debate over policy occurs, making clear what the public mood or -assessment is to guide those in positions of power -Embodiment of symbolic action in terms of public policy
The bourgeois public sphere - first and second estate discuss politics
How did the public sphere develop according to Habermas
It must be accessible to all citizens
there must be access to information
the means to transmit info must be accessible to those who can be influenced
must be institution guarantees
What does Habermas say is needed for the public sphere to function smoothly?
“public opinion can by definition only come into existence when a reasoning public is presupposed” Who decides what is rational?
What are the flaws with Habermas’ ideal of the public sphere?
a public
people coming together to discuss common concerns, including concerns about who they are and what they should do
strong publics
publics whose discourse encompasses both opinion formation and decision making
weak publics
publics who deliberative practice consists exclusively in opinion formation and does not also encompass decision making
counterpublic
parallel discursive arenas where members of subordinated social groups invent and circulate counter discourse to formulate oppositional interpretations of their identities, interests, and needs
counterpublic sphere is marginalized group actively working for change against status quo – typically have less agency that public sphere
What is the difference between a counterpublic sphere and a public sphere?
cyberpublic
publics existing online
public screen
the constant circulation of symbolic action enabled by the relatively new media technologies of television, computers, photography, film, internet, and smart phones
Isocrates
a minor philosopher and a sophist -not concerned with the search for absolute truth -knowledge of truth is difficult to come by; rejects the possibility of teaching it -“it is much better to form probably opinions about useful things than to have exact knowledge about useless things”
the four views of rhetoric
natural talent, including arete (virtue) practice in varied situations instruction in general principles (theory)
phronesis
“practical wisdom” or the ability to make the right decision at the right time
kairos
fitness for the occasion
rhetoric's connection to ethics or morality
-rhetoric cannot teach arete (virtue) -rhetors who want to be effective will project the morals/ethics of their audiences -rhetors want to come off as moral/ethical to their audience -those who do this will practice those morals regularly -those morals/ethics will become a habit
persona
What do all rhetors enact when engaging in rhetoric?
character (ethos) role identity authority image
What are the five facets of a persona?
coercive power reward power legitimate power expert power referent power
5 sources of power
coercive power
power to punish
reward power
power to give you what you want
legitimate power
given by the structure/hierarchy of the institution
expert power
knowledge
referent power
people you look up to and that you give authority/power to bc you like who they are/what they do
mystification
tbd
identity
who you are as a person, whether onstage or not
strategic essentialism
the process of making an identity ingredient the core part of one's persona, which legitimizes the right to speak
social power
tbd
persona
the ethos, roles, identity, and image a rhetor constructs and performs (or that others construct for the rhetor to perform) during a rhetorical act
performance
all the activity of a given participant on a given occasion which serves to influence in any way any of the other participants
ethos
that which is in the character of the speaker; more. specifically, it is the character of a rhetor performed in the rhetorical act and known by the audience because of prior interactions
identity
the physical and/or behavioral attributes that make a person recognizable as a member of a group
intersectionality
the nature of identity as "multiplicative" rather than additive
image
a verbal and visual representation, emphasizing particular qualities and characteristics, that creates a perception of the rhetor in the audience's minds
postmodernism
theory that places into question singular explanations, metanarratives, categories, and the certainty of supposedly objective interpretations of the world
polysemous
the multiple meanings of a single text
polyvalence
multitude of valuations - occurs when audience members share understandings of the denotations of a text but disagree about the valuation of the denotations to such a degree that they produce notably different interpretations
denotative; connotational
polysemy implies that audiences interpret different ___ meanings from the text, while polyvalence implies that they extract different ___ meanings
enclaved publics
publics that conceal their "antiestablishment ideas and strategies in order to avoid sanctions, but internally produce lively debate and planning
oscillating publics
publics that exist to "engage in debate with outsiders to and to test ideas"
networked publics
interconnected publics and counterpublics formed or strengthened as a result of the communication practices enabled by the internet and social media
networked public screens
image events, iconic and everyday, are produced and circulated in a networked mediascape
Note
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