For decades, scholars and commentators have lamented the fragilities of the space(s) where citizens can engage, coordinate, and shape political meaning – a crucial foundation for a stable democracy. Yet what does a concept, dating back to Habermas’s ‘bourgeois public sphere’ of the eighteenth century, mean in contemporary vernacular? Given the transformations in communication networks brought about by technological change, have we come to terms with the new criteria for a ‘public voice’? Do normative ideals about a thriving political public sphere need updating? Do analytic concepts (framing, gatekeeping, agenda setting) still work or do they need to be reconsidered or completely refurbished? And what can be offered by citizen-led processes of democratic renewal? 

This APSA-funded workshop is co-hosted by two Research Centres conducting theoretical and empirical research on the public sphere(s) – the University of Canberra’s Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, and QUT’s Digital Media Research Centre.

Bringing together postgraduate students and early career researchers with leading scholars in the field, the workshop addresses challenges and threats facing the contemporary public sphere(s) in Australia and beyond. It aims to activate a dynamic interdisciplinary network of scholars working in to explore ways in which the public sphere(s) might be ‘future-proofed’ to integrate and harness the affordances of digital technologies while still facilitating normatively desirable outcomes for vibrant democracies.

The workshop format is designed to offer participants the opportunity to receive detailed feedback from leading experts on works in progress, with the aim of assisting participants to convert their draft papers into a publication.

We are delighted to welcome scholars working on the broad concept of the public sphere from a variety of methodological perspectives and offering theoretical and empirical insights.

Adele Webb (UC) & Katharina Esau (QUT)
Workshop Co-Convenors