28847a
Advanced seminar
SoSe 23: A risky venture – the difference between public and private communication
Mirco Liefke
Comments
„Blushing is the most peculiar and the most human of all expressions” – we use this observation by Charles Darwin as a starting point for an expedition into the public sphere, its historic routes, its theoretic concepts, and its meaning for a democratic society. We will work our way from micro- to macro- level approaches and back to assess these approaches’ capacity to explain political communication.
Based on Erving Gofman’s situational analysis of mundane interaction we describe the capacity for embarrassment as a major factor in human communication and learn why an esteemed political thinker like Hannah Arendt considers speaking in public to be a risky venture. We critically examine media historian Paddy Scannell who mobilizes Martin Heidegger’s “care structures” to explain the difference between a family picture, a toaster and a newscast. We go on to study why communication is made of gaps and what TV’s “liveness” has to do with public life. Finally, we explore how digital media ended what Jürgen Habermas called the “editorial custody” of professional journalism and why Michael Schudson declares a rule-governed discussion and not privat talk to be the “soul of democracy”.
All of this in mind, we discuss the latest developments in a more and more digital public and evaluate the epistemic challenges placed by an ongoing democratization of communication infrastructure within a “redactional society”. close
Based on Erving Gofman’s situational analysis of mundane interaction we describe the capacity for embarrassment as a major factor in human communication and learn why an esteemed political thinker like Hannah Arendt considers speaking in public to be a risky venture. We critically examine media historian Paddy Scannell who mobilizes Martin Heidegger’s “care structures” to explain the difference between a family picture, a toaster and a newscast. We go on to study why communication is made of gaps and what TV’s “liveness” has to do with public life. Finally, we explore how digital media ended what Jürgen Habermas called the “editorial custody” of professional journalism and why Michael Schudson declares a rule-governed discussion and not privat talk to be the “soul of democracy”.
All of this in mind, we discuss the latest developments in a more and more digital public and evaluate the epistemic challenges placed by an ongoing democratization of communication infrastructure within a “redactional society”. close
13 Class schedule
Regular appointments
Thu, 2023-04-20 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-04-27 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-05-04 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-05-11 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-05-25 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-06-01 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-06-08 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-06-15 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-06-22 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-06-29 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-07-06 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-07-13 10:00 - 12:00
Thu, 2023-07-20 10:00 - 12:00