Michelle Peterson

Hi everyone. Well, my initial reaction to the beginning of the intro. was that the public sphere is just a metaphor, or rather, a cool title given to forums where people gather to discuss, write, react, etc. to state affairs. I couldn't believe that I was actually taking a class about this! Essentially our class is a public sphere where we learn about the public sphere while discussing the public sphere. Sounds exciting. . .
It wasn't until I continued reading that I learned that I was totally wrong. What interests me most is the history of the p.s. and that we should be thankful our country is free to have a p.s. McKee writes, "a society that wants all citizens to be free, and to be treated equally and justly, needs a functioning public sphere to ensure that their opinions and ideas contribute to the forming of general agreement" (16). Many of us are future educators. I wonder if it is our duty to inform students about the p.s. and make sure that our free public sphere remains just that, Free. It will be interesting to see what we can take from this class and apply to our classrooms.