2000/11/01 by Robert Asen · 6 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Media Studies and Communication #Rhetoric and Communication Studies #Social Media and Politics
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2000.tb00201.x
openalex publication_date 2000/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
As conceptual models of the public sphere have moved toward multiplicity, “counterpublic” has emerged as a critical term to signify that some publics develop not simply as one among a constellation of discursive entities, but as explicitly articulated alternatives to wider publics that exclude the interests of potential participants. This essay attempts to forestall potential reductionism in future counterpublic theory by considering through 3 “ominous examples” how the “counter” in counter-publics may be reduced to persons, places, or topics. Instead, this essay seeks to orient critical attention to the discursive quality of counterpublics. It argues that the ways in which counterpublics set themselves against wider publics may be most productively explored by attending to the recognition and articulation of exclusion through alternative discourse norms and practices.