This book brings together the study of translation with public sphere theory, in order to discuss social communication as it really happens. Through illuminating examples and case studies, translation is shown to be a mediating mechanism in all public debate conducted both within one society and between societies. The author offers a detailed discussion of the kinds of translation most relevant to public sphere communication and their properties. Throughout, he argues persuasively that it is impossible to study the public sphere without taking account of translation in it, and that the interaction between the public as a collective inevitably involves translation. Further, the author suggests new methodological approaches to studying not only translation in the public sphere but public debate itself as a kind of translation. Building on the achievements of both the public sphere scholarship and Translation Studies, this work fills a significant lacuna in existing literature and will set the agenda for future studies at the intersection of the two. It will provide an invaluable resource for scholars and students of the public sphere and translation, as well as academics in the broader fields of sociology, political science and communication. Sergey Tyulenev is Associate Professor and Director of the MA in Translation Studies at Durham University, UK. He has widely published on linguistic, cultural and social aspects of translation. His recent publications include Applying Luhmann to Translation Studies(2011), Translation and the Westernization of Eighteenth-Century Russia (2012) and Translation and Society (2014).

Is Habermas’s concept of the public sphere still relevant in an age of globalization, when the transnational flows of people and information have become increasingly intensive and when the nation-state can no longer be taken granted as the natural frame for social and political debate? This is the question posed with characteristic acuity by Nancy Fraser in her influential article ‘Transnationalizing the Public Sphere?’ Challenging careless uses of the term ‘global public sphere’, Fraser raises the debate about the nature and role of the public sphere in a global age to a new level. While drawing on the richness of Habermas’s conception and remaining faithful to the spirit of critical theory, Fraser thoroughly reconstructs the concepts of inclusion, legitimacy and efficacy for our globalizing times. This book includes Fraser’s original article as well as specially commissioned contributions that raise searching questions about the theoretical assumptions and empirical grounds of Fraser’s argument. They are concerned with the fundamental premises of Habermas’s development of the concept of the public sphere as a normative ideal in complex societies; the significance of the fact that the public sphere emerged in modern states that were also imperial; whether ‘scaling up’ to a global public sphere means giving up on local and national publics; the role of ‘counterpublics’ in developing alternative globalization; and what inclusion might possibly mean for a global public. Fraser responds to these questions in detail in an extended reply to her critics. An invaluable resource for students and scholars concerned with the role of the public sphere beyond the nation-state, this book will also be welcomed by anyone interested in globalization and democracy today.

This book brings together the study of translation with public sphere theory, in order to discuss social communication as it really happens. Through illuminating examples and case studies, translation is shown to be a mediating mechanism in all public debate conducted both within one society and between societies. The author offers a detailed discussion of the kinds of translation most relevant to public sphere communication and their properties. Throughout, he argues persuasively that it is impossible to study the public sphere without taking account of translation in it, and that the interaction between the public as a collective inevitably involves translation. Further, the author suggests new methodological approaches to studying not only translation in the public sphere but public debate itself as a kind of translation. Building on the achievements of both the public sphere scholarship and Translation Studies, this work fills a significant lacuna in existing literature and will set the agenda for future studies at the intersection of the two. It will provide an invaluable resource for scholars and students of the public sphere and translation, as well as academics in the broader fields of sociology, political science and communication.

This major work retraces the emergence and development of the Bourgeois public sphere - that is, a sphere which was distinct from the state and in which citizens could discuss issues of general interest. In analysing the historical transformations of this sphere, Habermas recovers a concept which is of crucial significance for current debates in social and political theory. Habermas focuses on the liberal notion of the bourgeois public sphere as it emerged in Europe in the early modern period. He examines both the writings of political theorists, including Marx, Mill and de Tocqueville, and the specific institutions and social forms in which the public sphere was realized. This brilliant and influential work has been widely recognized for many years as a classic of contemporary social and political thought, of interest to students and scholars throughout the social sciences and humanities.

This book comprises a range of general discussions on tradition and innovation in the methodology used in discourse studies (Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis, Argumentation Theory, Rhetoric, Philosophy) and a number of empirical applications of such methodologies in the analysis of actual instances of language use in the public sphere - in particular, discourses arising in the context of the debate on the presence of religious symbols in public places.

In this book, scholars from a wide range of disciplines respond to Habermas's most directly relevant work, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. The relationship between civil society and public life is in the forefront of contemporary discussion. No single scholarly voice informs this discussion more than that of Jürgen Habermas. His contributions have shaped the nature of debates over critical theory, feminism, cultural studies, and democratic politics. In this book, scholars from a wide range of disciplines respond to Habermas's most directly relevant work, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. From political theory to cultural criticism, from ethics to gender studies, from history to media studies, these essays challenge, refine, and extend our understanding of the social foundations and changing character of democracy and public discourse. Contributors Hannah Arendt, Keith Baker, Seyla Benhabib, Harry C. Boyte, Craig Calhoun, Geoff Eley, Nancy Fraser, Nicholas Garnham, Jürgen Habermas, Peter Hohendahl, Lloyd Kramer, Benjamin Lee, Thomas McCarthy, Moishe Postone, Mary P. Ryan, Michael Schudson, Michael Warner, David Zaret

Over the last several years, the debate about publics seems to have newly emerged. This debate critically reflects the Habermasian ideal of a (national) public sphere in a transnational context. However, it seems that the issue of a reconstruction of a global public sphere is more complex. In this brilliant and provocative book, Ingrid Volkmer argues that a reflective approach of globalization is required in order to identify and deconstruct key strata of deliberate public discourse in supra- and subnational societal formations. This construction helps to understand the new processes of legitimacy at the beginning of the 21st century in which the traditional conception of a ‘public’ and its role as a legitimizing force are being challenged and transformed. The book unfolds this key phenomenon of global deliberate interconnectedness as a discursive and negotiated dimension within ‘reflective’ globalization, i.e. continuously constituting, maintaining and refining the ‘life’ of the global public and conceptualizes a global public sphere. Offering insightful case studies to illustrate this new theory of the global public sphere, the book will be essential reading for students and scholars of media and communication studies , and social and political theory.