Skip to main content

Site navigation

  • University of Technology Sydney home
  • Home

    Home
  • For students

  • For industry

  • Research

Explore

  • Courses
  • Events
  • News
  • Stories
  • People

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Study at UTS

    • arrow_right_alt Find a course
    • arrow_right_alt Course areas
    • arrow_right_alt Undergraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Postgraduate students
    • arrow_right_alt Research Masters and PhD
    • arrow_right_alt Online study and short courses
  • Student information

    • arrow_right_alt Current students
    • arrow_right_alt New UTS students
    • arrow_right_alt Graduates (Alumni)
    • arrow_right_alt High school students
    • arrow_right_alt Indigenous students
    • arrow_right_alt International students
  • Admissions

    • arrow_right_alt How to apply
    • arrow_right_alt Entry pathways
    • arrow_right_alt Eligibility
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for students

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Apply for a coursearrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt
  • Scholarshipsarrow_right_alt
  • Featured industries

    • arrow_right_alt Agriculture and food
    • arrow_right_alt Defence and space
    • arrow_right_alt Energy and transport
    • arrow_right_alt Government and policy
    • arrow_right_alt Health and medical
    • arrow_right_alt Corporate training
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Tech Central
    • arrow_right_alt Case studies
    • arrow_right_alt Research
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for industry

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Partner with usarrow_right_alt
  • Explore

    • arrow_right_alt Explore our research
    • arrow_right_alt Research centres and institutes
    • arrow_right_alt Graduate research
    • arrow_right_alt Research partnerships
arrow_right_altVisit our hub for research

For you

  • Libraryarrow_right_alt
  • Staffarrow_right_alt
  • Alumniarrow_right_alt
  • Current studentsarrow_right_alt

POPULAR LINKS

  • Find a UTS expertarrow_right_alt
  • Research centres and institutesarrow_right_alt
  • University of Technology Sydney home
Explore the University of Technology Sydney
Category Filters:
University of Technology Sydney home University of Technology Sydney home
  1. home
  2. arrow_forward_ios ... Newsroom
  3. arrow_forward_ios ... 2024
  4. arrow_forward_ios 03
  5. arrow_forward_ios Future-proofing public spheres

Future-proofing public spheres

28 March 2024
people surveying the globe

A philosophical disagreement between Jürgen Habermas and his supervisor Theodor Adorno at the Frankfurt School culminated in Habermas’s 1981 magnum opus: The Theory of Communicative Action. With its central premise that human action is fundamentally based on communication and language, his theory envisions a utopian ideal where human communication transcends boundaries of power, coercion, and inequality, creating opportunities for participants to learn from others and from themselves, leading to a truly inclusive and egalitarian public sphere.

Four decades later, media, communication and democracy academics continue to deliberate over the fragilities of the public spheres where citizens can engage, coordinate and shape political meaning, including at last week’s two-day workshop on ‘Future Proofing the Public Sphere’, organised by the Queensland University of Technology Digital Media Research Centre (DMRC) and the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra. 
 
The presentations and panels explored the changing definition of the public sphere(s), the progressively blurring line between the ‘online’ and ‘offline’ world, and diminishing normative ideals about what makes a thriving public sphere. And what particularly engaged many of us was the focus on activating a dynamic interdisciplinary network of scholars, and pushing the boundaries of western-centric research norms that exclude broader discussions on networked publics in the Majority World as well as their changing ideas and ideals of democratic renewal. For instance, University of Melbourne’s Sofya Glazunova, whose research focuses on digital activism and anti-regime publics in the Russian context, questioned the sustainability of democratic public spheres under authoritarian regimes. On another panel, DMRC’s Katharina Esau raised a pressing concern about whether those who cannot directly participate in the process of activism or mobilisation are accurately represented in these movements, and what deliberative practices are needed to make sure democratic representation is occurring in all contexts.
 
Studying individual public spheres in isolation risks overlooking the interconnectedness of global issues and the potential for shared solutions. Digital authoritarianism, including internet shutdowns and censorship, may be an untreaded terrain for many in the west, but far-right extremism and polarisation are too well known to all publics globally. The future-proofing of digital public spheres will require more than just facilitating normatively desirable outcomes for western democracies, which rely heavily on striking bargains with big tech to 'allow' such spheres to thrive.

Ayesha Jehangir

Ayesha Jehangir, CMT Postdoctoral Fellow

Share
Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share this on LinkedIn
Back to CMT news

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation and the Boorooberongal People of the Dharug Nation upon whose ancestral lands our campuses now stand. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands. 

University of Technology Sydney

City Campus

15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007

Get in touch with UTS

Follow us

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Facebook

A member of

  • Australian Technology Network
Use arrow keys to navigate within each column of links. Press Tab to move between columns.

Study

  • Find a course
  • Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate
  • How to apply
  • Scholarships and prizes
  • International students
  • Campus maps
  • Accommodation

Engage

  • Find an expert
  • Industry
  • News
  • Events
  • Experience UTS
  • Research
  • Stories
  • Alumni

About

  • Who we are
  • Faculties
  • Learning and teaching
  • Sustainability
  • Initiatives
  • Equity, diversity and inclusion
  • Campus and locations
  • Awards and rankings
  • UTS governance

Staff and students

  • Current students
  • Help and support
  • Library
  • Policies
  • StaffConnect
  • Working at UTS
  • UTS Handbook
  • Contact us
  • Copyright © 2025
  • ABN: 77 257 686 961
  • CRICOS provider number: 00099F
  • TEQSA provider number: PRV12060
  • TEQSA category: Australian University
  • Privacy
  • Copyright
  • Disclaimer
  • Accessibility