How valid and relevant is Habermas classic theory expressed in The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere today? Is it useful for those engaged in public opinion, policy, and discussion, such as journalists, public relations and other media and communications professionals, politicians, corporate and community leaders, or citizens? Discuss the adequacy and uses of Habermas account for actual existing public spheres today with reference to one case study. What do you see as the recipe for an ideal public sphere in the contemporary world? What are the essential elements that need to be in place to meet your vision of the best, most effective kind of public sphere? Develop your account with reference to public sphere theorists, and also make illustrate and develop your argument via one case study. Each society has its own distinctive public sphere, with its own histories, and characteristics and no one theory can explain them all. Choose the public sphere of one country with which you are familiar, and explain and analyse what: i) it has in common with other public spheres; ii) what is unique. Select one case study to underpin your explanation. .How do you see public spheres having changed with the arrival of new communication technology, such as the Internet, social media, and, most recently, automated media, AI, and algorithms? Choosing one case study, show how public discussion, opinion, and policy, requires new kinds of communication and media strategies. What do you see as the relationship between the private sphere and public sphere in todays world, especially in light of developments such as the rise of personalised, social, mobile media and apps, and the emergence of intimate, affective, and little publics? Use one case study to demonstrate your argument. Public spheres do not have to be democratic. Do you regard public spheres as always linked to ideas of democracy, and their success judged against democratic criteria? Referring to one case study, assess as to whether it is possible to have an adequate public sphere existing in an authoritarian society, or in a society that works on a different political model than democracy.
