[ecrea] [IJoC] New Special Section on the "European Public Sphere" Published

IJoC Publishes Special Section on the “European Public Sphere”

There have been several notable communication revolutions over the past 500
years. The movable type printing press sparked a social and cultural
revolution, and ushered in the Enlightenment in Europe. The political press
of 17th century England opened debates about religion, science, and politics
to a new realm of society, the public. Later innovations, like the rotary
press in the 19th century, established mass media as the key marker of a
democratic society.  Each of these technological innovations altered the
relationship between the citizen and the state. The so-called public sphere
evolved slowly in Europe. The appeal to a news reading, debating public
became the only means of legitimizing political power. Social media and
networked communication technologies represent the latest paradigm shift in
the way citizens access, share, and react to information.
To what extent do new media influence the public sphere in Europe today?  Do
these communication technologies offer alternative means of constituting a
public capable of traversing the varied social, political, and cultural
differences among the EU member states?

This IJoC Special Section, guest-edited by Homero Gil de Zúñiga focuses on
the current state of the European public sphere. It addresses how
individuals are using new media to inform themselves, stimulate political
conversations, and participate in politics. This collection of articles
represent some of the latest thinking on digital and social media,
information communication technologies and political engagement. Empirical
studies in this volume illustrate the complexity and depth of political
engagement in Europe. In particular, this Special Section calls on
researchers to refrain from an overly pessimistic reading of the effect of
the Internet on politics. Instead, public sphere studies might benefit from
a more realistic interpretation of what constitutes the public sphere in
Europe.

Contributors for this Special Section on the European Public Sphere are:

•  Ahmed Al-Rawi, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
•  Salvador Alvídrez, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, MX
•  Jose A. Araiza, University of Texas at Austin, USA
•  Lucy Atkinson, University of Texas at Austin, USA
•  Brian Baresh, , University of Texas at Austin, USA
•  Audun Beyer, University of Oslo, Norway
•  Victoria C. Chen, University of Texas at Austin, USA
•  Claes De Vreese, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
•  Pieterjan Desmet, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
•  Homero Gil de Zúñiga, University of Vienna, Austria
•  Jacob Groshek, Boston University, USA
•  Stephanie Guise, Universität Erfurt, Germany
•  Francois Heinderyckx, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium
•  Tom Johnson, University of Texas at Austin, USA
•  Danielle K. Kilgo, University of Texas at Austin, USA
•  Jörg Matthes, University of Vienna, Austria
•  Shannon McGregor, University of Texas at Austin, USA
•  Rachel Mourao, University of Texas at Austin, USA
•  Carlos Muñiz, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico
•  Magdalena Saldaña, University of Texas at Austin, USA
•  Nilsa Téllez, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico
•  Joost van Spanje, University of Amsterdam, The  Netherlands
•  Joseph Yoo, University of Texas at Austin, USA

We invite you to read these papers that published October 15, 2015 at
http://ijoc.org.

Larry Gross
Editor

Arlene Luck
Managing Editor
___________________________________________________
International Journal of Communication (IJoC)
USC Annenberg Press
University of Southern California
http://ijoc.org/



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