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Vox populi, vox neminis : crowds, interactivity and the fate of communication
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Ferro, Bernardo (2022) Vox populi, vox neminis : crowds, interactivity and the fate of communication. Critical Horizons, 23 (4). pp. 330-345. doi:10.1080/14409917.2022.2104080 ISSN 1568-5160.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14409917.2022.2104080
Abstract
Philosophy’s engagement with mass media has often been ambiguous: many critical theorists, from Benjamin to Bourdieu, recognised the emancipatory potential of modern communication technologies, but they also denounced the economic, political and ideological forces at work in the creation and dissemination of public opinion. Looking at different media, these authors emphasised the dialectical tension between the plurality of the public sphere and different forms of control and manipulation. In the present paper, I argue that this line of criticism, albeit important, is no longer sufficient. I claim that contemporary forms of communication, defined by a unique emphasis on interactivity, cannot be analysed simply in terms of the opposition between dominant and marginalised agents or discourses. In its most extreme form, interactivity leads to an implosion of the distinction between the sources and the targets of the information flow, which calls into question the very possibility of a meaningful communicative exchange. To clarify the nature of this phenomenon, I retrace the evolution of modern political communication, from live speeches to digital platforms and social networks, and discuss its implications for recent debates on political authority, participation and representation.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HM Sociology P Language and Literature > P Philology. Linguistics |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Philosophy | ||||
SWORD Depositor: | Library Publications Router | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Mass media -- Philosophy, Communication -- Social aspects, Digital media -- Social aspects, Digital media -- Political aspects | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Critical Horizons | ||||
Publisher: | Informa UK Limited | ||||
ISSN: | 1568-5160 | ||||
Official Date: | 1 August 2022 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 23 | ||||
Number: | 4 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 330-345 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1080/14409917.2022.2104080 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) | ||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 30 August 2022 | ||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 30 August 2022 | ||||
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