Public sphere pedagogy

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Public sphere pedagogy (PSP) represents an approach to educational engagement that connects classroom activities with real world civic engagement. [1] The focus of PSP programs is to connect class assignments, content, and readings with contemporary public issues. [2] Students are then asked to participate with members of the community in various forms of public sphere discourse and democratic participation, such as town hall meetings and public debate events. [3] Through these events, students are challenged to practice civic engagement and civil discourse.

Contents

Theoretical foundations

Public sphere theory

Public sphere pedagogy is theoretically grounded in Jürgen Habermas' conceptualization of the public sphere.[ citation needed ] In his seminal work The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere , Habermas envisioned the public sphere as an inclusive discursive space in which the citizens of a society gathered, discussed, and debated over the issues of the day. [4] Habermas argued that the European bourgeois public sphere that emerged in eighteenth century coffee houses and salons represented an idealized form of the public sphere. Individuals engaging in discussion in these spaces would share and debate their views with one another. Habermas argues that this dialectic encounter was a critical part of one's social life where individuals, as part of a larger public, could construct public opinion through critical rational discourse. Habermas argued that these discussions served to fill the gap between the state and the people by creating what he called a "civil society". Further, Habermas argued that a functioning public sphere was critical to maintaining a healthy democratic order and deliberative democracy. [5]

This traditional notion of a face-to-face public sphere has evolved with the invention of online technologies. The public sphere no longer requires a physical setting, but can manifest in cyberspace. [6] The coffee house discussions idealized by Habermas have expanded to blogs, discussion forums, and online videos. Henry Giroux in particular discusses the role of new media in the public sphere and public pedagogy. [7] However, scholars debate whether computer-mediated communication in an online setting actually constitutes a functioning public sphere or just a public space. [8] [9]

Applications

The Town Hall Meeting

Town Hall Meetings are one way public sphere pedagogy has been integrated into curriculum. [10] This event began at California State University, Chico in 2007. [11] Classes participating in the Town Hall event require students to research and write about controversial issues. Students then come together with classmates, students from other classes, faculty, and community members. During the Town Hall Meeting, participants move into breakout sessions to share their work and engage in discussions about their topics. Faculty and community members moderate these discussions, share expert insight, and move students toward further development of their work.

Students participate in interactive poster displays at the Shasta College Great Debate. Civic Expo2.JPG
Students participate in interactive poster displays at the Shasta College Great Debate.

The Great Debate

The Great Debate also uses public sphere pedagogy as its foundation. This event started at California State University, Chico in 2010 [12] and has since been implemented at Butte College, Shasta College, [3] and Chabot College. [13] The Great Debate requires students from a variety of classes to research and write about a controversial theme. These themes have ranged from water and agriculture [14] to mental health. [15] The event is open to the public. Students give individual and group presentations, engage in formal debates, break out into discussion sessions, and display interactive poster presentations. Community members and public officials also participate as moderators, discussion leaders, and debaters. Unlike the Town Hall Meetings, which usually take place on campus property, the Great Debate is hosted in public spaces including City Council Chambers and public libraries.

The Student Voices program

Student Voices programs are a type of civic engagement initiative that have been implemented in several high schools in the United States. The curriculum has high school students research and complete classroom assignments on current issues in government and candidates in local elections. [16] Students then connect with outside communities via the digital public sphere and engage in moderated "Speak Out" events. Student Voices programs have been successfully implemented in curricula in Seattle [17] and Pennsylvania [18] school districts.

Critiques

Public sphere pedagogy inherently is subject to many of the criticisms of Habermas' conception of the public sphere. Chief among them is the traditionally exclusionary nature. The bourgeois public sphere, as introduced by Habermas, has been characterized as highly patriarchal, [19] and oblivious to the existence of female [20] and plebeian [21] styles of discourse. The concern here is that as a model of the bourgeois public sphere, applications of public sphere pedagogy might alienate students and community members unaccustomed to this type of dialectic experience. In addition to its exclusionary nature, attention has also been called to Habermas' privileging of a hegemonic public sphere. Michael Warner argues that the bourgeois public sphere was structured to be affable to those privileged few who made up the powerful upperclass. [22] While students participating in public sphere pedagogy application receive special training in their classrooms, the same is not necessarily true of community members who participate. This specialized student training draws two critiques. First, conceiving of public pedagogy as a form of instruction risks erasing the plurality that is central to being a public. [7] Training individuals how to be "good" citizens prescribes action in a way that limits the scope of politics and the public sphere. Second, conceiving of public pedagogy as a form of learning risks eclipsing politics with education. [7] Turning political and social issues into learning problems individualizes the issues instead of making them the responsibility of the public.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jürgen Habermas</span> German social theorist and philosopher (born 1929)

Jürgen Habermas is a German philosopher and social theorist in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. His work addresses communicative rationality and the public sphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil society</span> Third sector of society, distinct from government and business

Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere. By other authors, civil society is used in the sense of 1) the aggregate of non-governmental organizations and institutions that advance the interests and will of citizens or 2) individuals and organizations in a society which are independent of the government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State University, Chico</span> Public university in Chico, California

California State University, Chico is a public university in Chico, California. It was founded in 1887 as one of about 180 "normal schools" founded by state governments in the 19th century to train teachers for the rapidly growing public common schools. Some closed but most steadily expanded their role and became state colleges in the early 20th century and state universities in the late 20th century. It is the second oldest campus in the California State University system. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had a total enrollment of 16,630 students. The university offers 126 bachelor's degree programs, 35 master's degree programs, and four types of teaching credentials. Chico is a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public sphere</span> Area in social life with political ramifications

The public sphere is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action. A "Public" is "of or concerning the people as a whole." Such a discussion is called public debate and is defined as the expression of views on matters that are of concern to the public—often, but not always, with opposing or diverging views being expressed by participants in the discussion. Public debate takes place mostly through the mass media, but also at meetings or through social media, academic publications and government policy documents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public participation (decision making)</span> Extent to which societies encourage the people to share in organizational decision-making

Citizen participation or public participation in social science refers to different mechanisms for the public to express opinions—and ideally exert influence—regarding political, economic, management or other social decisions. Participatory decision-making can take place along any realm of human social activity, including economic, political, management, cultural or familial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E-democracy</span> Use of information and communication technology in political and governance processes

E-democracy, also known as digital democracy or Internet democracy, uses information and communication technology (ICT) in political and governance processes. The term is credited to digital activist Steven Clift. By using 21st-century ICT, e-democracy seeks to enhance democracy, including aspects like civic technology and E-government. Proponents argue that by promoting transparency in decision-making processes, e-democracy can empower all citizens to observe and understand the proceedings. Also, if they possess overlooked data, perspectives, or opinions, they can contribute meaningfully. This contribution extends beyond mere informal disconnected debate; it facilitates citizen engagement in the proposal, development, and actual creation of a country's laws. In this way, e-democracy has the potential to incorporate crowdsourced analysis more directly into the policy-making process.

Incivility is a general term for social behaviour lacking in civility or good manners, on a scale from rudeness or lack of respect for elders, to vandalism and hooliganism, through public drunkenness and threatening behaviour. The word "incivility" is derived from the Latin incivilis, meaning "not of a citizen".

Discourse ethics refers to a type of argument that attempts to establish normative or ethical truths by examining the presuppositions of discourse. The ethical theory originated with German philosophers Jürgen Habermas and Karl-Otto Apel, and variations have been used by Frank Van Dun and Habermas' student Hans-Hermann Hoppe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civic engagement</span> Individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern

Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to protect public values or make a change in a community. The goal of civic engagement is to address public concerns and promote the quality of the community.

In political theory, refeudalization is the process of recovering the political mechanisms and relationships that used to define feudalism. Because the term "feudalism" is slightly ambiguous, "refeudalization" is ambiguous, too.

<i>The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere</i> 1962 book by Jürgen Habermas

The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society is a 1962 book by the philosopher Jürgen Habermas. It was translated into English in 1989 by Thomas Burger and Frederick Lawrence. An important contribution to modern understanding of democracy, it is notable for "transforming media studies into a hard-headed discipline." In 2022 Habermas published a brief sequel, A New Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere and Deliberative Politics.

In sociology, communicative action is cooperative action undertaken by individuals based upon mutual deliberation and argumentation. The term was developed by German philosopher-sociologist Jürgen Habermas in his work The Theory of Communicative Action.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constitutional patriotism</span> Concept of citizenship

Constitutional patriotism is the idea that people should form a political attachment to the norms and values of a pluralistic liberal democratic constitution rather than to a national culture or cosmopolitan society. It is associated with post-nationalist identity because, while it is seen as a similar concept to nationalism, the attachment is based on the constitution rather than on a national culture. In essence, it is an attempt to re-conceptualize group identity with a focus on the interpretation of citizenship as a loyalty that goes beyond individuals' ethnocultural identification. Theorists believe this to be more defensible than other forms of shared commitment in a diverse modern state with multiple languages and group identities. It is particularly relevant in post-national democratic states in which multiple cultural and ethnic groups coexist. It was influential in the development of the European Union and a key to Europeanism as a basis for multiple countries belonging to a supranational union.

Radical democracy is a type of democracy that advocates the radical extension of equality and liberty. Radical democracy is concerned with a radical extension of equality and freedom, following the idea that democracy is an unfinished, inclusive, continuous and reflexive process.

The salons of early modern France were social and intellectual gatherings that played an integral role in the cultural development of the country. The salons were seen by contemporary writers as a cultural hub for the upper middle class and aristocracy, responsible for the dissemination of good manners and sociability. Salons became a center of intellectual conversation, as well as a debate stage for social issues, playing host to many members of the Republic of Letters. In contrast to other early modern institutions, women played an important and visible role within the salons. Each woman, or salonnière, played a different role within these salons. Some were actively involved in conversation and debate, while others used their connections to bring others together and spread Enlightenment ideas.

The salons of Early Modern and Revolutionary France played an integral role in the cultural and intellectual development of France. The salons were seen by contemporary writers as a cultural hub, responsible for the dissemination of good manners and sociability. It was not merely manners that the salons supposedly spread but also ideas, as the salons became a centre of intellectual as well as social exchange, playing host to many members of the Republic of Letters. Women, in contrast to other Early Modern institutions, played an important and visible role within the salons. The extent of this role is, however, heavily contested by some historians.

Action civics is a modern and alternative form of civics education in the United States. Action civics is an applied civic education process in which participants learn about government by examining issues in their own community and then select a focus issue for action through a process of debate, research the issue and learn advocacy strategies, develop civic skills such as public speaking, formulate a plan, mobilize, educate, then evaluate, and reflect on their experience. Participants' voices are encouraged, valued and incorporated. Participants learn by doing, with a focus on collective action. Action civics can encompass a number of different actions from community service to electoral engagement and from talking about concerns with public officials to creating peer education campaigns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public rhetoric</span>

Public rhetoric refers to discourse both within a group of people and between groups, often centering on the process by which individual or group discourse seeks membership in the larger public discourse. Public rhetoric can also involve rhetoric being used within the general populace to foster social change and encourage agency on behalf of the participants of public rhetoric. The collective discourse between rhetoricians and the general populace is one representation of public rhetoric. A new discussion within the field of public rhetoric is digital space because the growing digital realm complicates the idea of private and public, as well as previously concrete definitions of discourse. Furthermore, scholars of public rhetoric often employ the language of tourism to examine how identity is negotiated between individuals and groups and how this negotiation impacts individuals and groups on a variety of levels, ranging from the local to the global.

In this article Jürgen Habermas, Sara Lennox, and Frank Lennox attempt to examine the notions of Habermas's thesis, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere focusing on the development of the public sphere today. The article begins by demonstrating the idea of a public sphere, referring to it as a “concept” in which private individuals assemble to form a public body in an “unrestricted fashion”. According to Habermas, the public sphere itself is to derive from democracy. He highlights the importance of the freedom to assemble and to express opinions in an inclusive manner. The opinions on matters of general interest from a large public body require a vehicle of transmission in order to supply information and enable the possibility for societal influence. He determines that the modern means for this transmission are through media such as newspapers, magazines, television, and radio.

The European public sphere refers to the public sphere where ideas and information are exchanged by citizens of European societies that can influence the European political life. It is to have an "arena for EU-wide public discourse".

References

  1. ↑ Swiencicki, Jill; Chris Fosen; Sofie Burton; Justin Gonder; Thia Wolf (2011). "The Town Hall Meeting: Imagining a Self through Public-Sphere Pedagogy". Liberal Education. 97 (2): 40–45. ISSN   0024-1822 . Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  2. ↑ "About Public Sphere Pedagogy - First-Year Experience". California State University Chico. 2013. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  3. 1 2 Mosby, Claudia (2013-10-30). "The Great Debate and Civic Expo". Enjoy Magazine: Northern California Living. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  4. ↑ Habermas, J. (1962). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. Thomas Burger, Frederick Lawewnce (trans.). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. ISBN   978-0262581080.
  5. ↑ Habermas and the public sphere. Craig Calhoun (ed.). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. 1992. ISBN   978-0262531146.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ↑ Boeder, Pieter (2005-09-05). "Habermas' heritage: The future of the public sphere in the network society". First Monday. 10 (9). doi: 10.5210/fm.v10i9.1280 . Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  7. 1 2 3 Biesta, Gert (2012). "Becoming public: public pedagogy, citizenship and the public sphere". Social & Cultural Geography. 13 (7): 683–697. doi:10.1080/14649365.2012.723736. ISSN   1464-9365. S2CID   145768510.
  8. ↑ Papacharissi, Zizi (2002). "The virtual sphere: The internet as a public sphere". New Media & Society. 4 (1): 9–27. doi:10.1177/14614440222226244. S2CID   28899373.
  9. ↑ Goldberg, Greg (2010). "Rethinking the public/virtual sphere: The problem with participation". New Media & Society. 13 (5): 739–754. doi:10.1177/1461444810379862. S2CID   32379644.
  10. ↑ "The CSU, Chico Town Hall Meeting - First-Year Experience - CSU, Chico". California State University Chico. 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  11. ↑ Weber, Lori M. (2012-06-07). Public Sphere Pedagogy: The Town Hall Meeting and the Chico Great Debate Programs, Assessing the Effect on Students' Civic Dispositions and Success. 2012 American Democracy Project and The Democracy Commitment National Meeting. San Antonio, Texas.
  12. ↑ "The Chico Great Debate - First-Year Experience - CSU, Chico" (California State University Chico). 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  13. ↑ Chang, Nick (2013-12-12). "Hayward's 'Great Debate' Brings Bilingual Education to Forefront". The Pioneer: California State University East Bay. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  14. ↑ Hacking, Heather (2013-04-13). "Students study, share at Chico's City Plaza in day-long Great Debate on ag and water". Chico Enterprise Record. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  15. ↑ Cameron, Katerina (2013-10-31). "Great Debate Friday focuses on mental health". Chico Enterprise Record. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  16. ↑ Jamieson, Kathleen Hall (2008-05-07). "Student Voices". The Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  17. ↑ "Center for Communication & Civic Engagement :: Projects : Student Voices (2001-2006)". Center for Communication and Civic Engagement. 2005-05-17. Archived from the original on 2018-10-07. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  18. ↑ Feldman, Lauren; Josh Pasek; Daniel Romer; Kathleen Hall Jamieson (2007-11-01). "Identifying Best Practices in Civic Education: Lessons from the Student Voices Program". American Journal of Education. 114 (1): 75–100. doi:10.1086/520686. JSTOR   10.1086/520692.
  19. ↑ Fraser, Nancy (1990). "Rethinking the public sphere: A contribution to the critique of actually existing democracy". Social Text (25/26): 56–80. doi:10.2307/466240. ISSN   0164-2472. JSTOR   466240. S2CID   9589555.
  20. ↑ Ryan, M. P. (1992). "Gender and public access: Women's politics in nineteenth century America". In Craig Calhoun (ed.). Habermas and the public sphere. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. pp. 259–288. ISBN   978-0262531146.
  21. ↑ Negt, Oskar; Alexander Kluge (1993). Public sphere and experience: Toward an analysis of the bourgeois and proletarian public sphere. Peter Labanyi, Jamie Owen Daniel, Assebja Oksiloff (trans.). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN   978-0816620319.
  22. ↑ Warner, Michael (2002-06-15). Publics and counterpublics. New York, NY: Zone Books. ISBN   978-1890951283.
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