Stephanie Velona on Kellner and Stephens

Kellner presents us with an overview of Habermas’s public sphere. In reading this article I believe that Kellner was trying to present us with the ideas that were expressed by Habermas, his slant seems to be that of someone who supports the Habermasian theory of the public sphere. According to Kellner the bourgeois public sphere that Habermas discusses was one that took into consideration the private sphere (family, economic, and social life) which contrasted with the demands and concerns of social and public life. During this time the bourgeois had social societies that they belonged to where they could discuss things of interest and importance to their society and their families. I would agree that this was very true for the bourgeois or middle class during the 1700, and 1800’s but I also believe there was a definite shift in the 1900’s and since that time when mass media came to be a part of life.

Kellner goes on to tell us that Habermas sees the “transformation of the mutations of the public sphere from a space of rational discussion, debate, and concensus to a realm of mass cultural consumption and administration by corporations and dominant elites”. Where before the media was used as a facilitator of public debate it has transformed into a mass media directed by the large corporations that own them, inflicting their ideas and thoughts onto the general public in an attempt to make us think and believe as they want us too. Unfortunately, I believe this assessment to be a true one. People are so easily swayed by what they see on television or hear on the news. I believe that whether you listen to CNN or FoxNews Station or MSNBC you are getting the news told to you with a certain slant, either a conservative or a liberal slant most often.

I enjoyed Mitchell Stephens article because it built more on the biography that we built in class. We learned a little more about the person that Habermas is. This article mentioned the public sphere and how Habermas does not just believe in it but he becomes part of it and practices those beliefs. His staying up for hours just to have discussions especially political discussions is one of his favorite things to do. Stephens introduces us as a class to his ideas of “communicative action”. Habermas is a believer in the Enlightenment ideas and that “reason…is crucial to clear communication”. Unlike most of the postmodernists who do not believe that reason is a necessarily good thing. I think as of right now I may be a more Habermasian type of a person as I believe as does Habermas that prejudices can be overcome in time through communication. I also love that he would like to see more citizens participate in governmental processes. That I believe is very important in a Democratic society.

Overall I liked learning more about Habermas’s theories, even if they are just the tip of the iceberg with much more to learn and to digest. I will be looking forward to more to come.