Public Intellectuals, Online Media, and Public Spheres: Current Realignments

Dahlgren, Peter

doi:10.1007/s10767-012-9124-5

Cited by 23 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…A recurring position in the literature on cultural criticism, regardless of its institutional setting, is a critical stance on the current favouring of generalists at the expense of specialists (Dahlgren 2012;Walsh 2003) and the, allegedly, increasing marginalization of traditional cultural criticism and art reviewing, i.e., the decline of intellectually or academically grounded deliberation and evaluation of art and culture (e.g., Bech-Karlsen 1991;Elkins 2003;Lund 2005;McDonald 2007). This echoes critical arguments on changes in (cultural) journalism more generally, declaring that cultural journalism is increasingly news-driven and de-prioritizes critical contemplation (e.g., Lund 2005;Larsen 2008).…”

Section: Demarcation Of Cultural Criticismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the public intellectual may, as already indicated, address a range of issues relating to a broad or anthropological conception of culture (Gans 1999;Williams ([1958Williams ([ ] 2011 and "offer general reflections on the direction or health of society" (Posner 2001, 35). Another common definition, in line with Posner's, asserts that public intellectuals are sometimes affiliated with universities, they are typically driven by ideas and characterized by their often extreme viewpoints and involvement in controversial discussions or debates, and they have a communicative capacity to reach and engage large audiences (Dahlgren 2012). Accordingly, they have traditionally been associated with projects of enlightenment (Arnoldi 2005) and intellectual autonomy (Gramsci 2003), and they have often situated themselves in opposition to the ruling class (e.g., Said 1994).…”

Section: The Intellectual Cultural Criticmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the past decade, scholars have discussed whether new digital media technologies strengthen or challenge democracy (Dahlberg 2011;Dahlgren 2012). It has been suggested that a more inclusive public sphere has emerged through media technologies, potentially giving individuals outside established media organizations voice (Castells 2001;Russell 2011).…”

Section: The Everyday Amateur Expertmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From Ivory Tower to Cross-Media Personas

Kristensen¹,

From²

2015

Journalism Practice

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This article introduces a theoretical typology of four rival yet converging ideal types of cultural critics in contemporary media culture and in cultural journalism, more specifically, encapsulated by the term the heterogeneous cultural critic and characterized by different kinds of authority and expertise: (1) the intellectual cultural critic, who is closely connected to an aesthetic tradition, bohemia and/or academia, or institutionalized cultural capital; (2) the professional cultural journalist, who is first and foremost embedded in a media professional logic; (3) the media-made arbiter of taste, whose authority is closely linked to practical experience with cultural production and repeated charismatic media performances; and (4) the everyday amateur expert, who offers subjective opinions and represents experience-based cultural taste. The aim is to provide an analytical minimum model for future empirical studies by outlining the contours of the multiple, objective and subjective, professional and non-professional cultural "authorities" of contemporary media culture. KEYWORDS celebrity capital; charismatic authority; cultural criticism in the media; cultural journalism; heterogeneous cultural critics; media capital; media intellectuals

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Section: Demarcation Of Cultural Criticismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Intellectual Cultural Criticmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Everyday Amateur Expertmentioning

confidence: 99%

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From Ivory Tower to Cross-Media Personas

Kristensen¹,

From²

2015

Journalism Practice

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“…profession en skelnen mellem henholdsvis den anerkendte forfatter (Zola) og akademikeren, der qua sin autoritet har gennemslagskraft i off entligheden (Brandes) og mht. kompetence en skelnen mellem generalisten og specialisten (Dahlgren, 2012) -og alle typer optraeder som Zolas støtter. Den historisk set 'oprindelige intellektuelle' taler for de samfundets svageste og advokerer for oplysningens ideologi, men der fi ndes afgjort også intellektuelle, som opfatter oplysningstraditionen som en ideologisk modstander (fx Søren Krarup, Sørine Godtfredsen og Kasper Støvring).…”

Section: Intellektuelle Typerunclassified

Danske intellektuelle på Facebook - eksemplificeret ved Svend Brinkmann og Carsten Jensen

Svendsen

2018

MedieKultur

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The article analyses how two unique Danish intellectual voices, Professor Svend Brinkmann and writer Carsten Jensen, use Facebook as a platform. It argues, on the one hand, that Facebook offers direct access to the two intellectuals’ followers and readers but on the other hand also creates communicative challenges. The article asks in particular whether the Brinkmann and Jensen follow or depart form the communicative practices afforded by the platform. After an initial review of the literature about the public intellectual, the analysis of Brinkmann’s and Jensen’s use of Facebook shows how Brinkman manages to invent new short forms which grant him extended public impact, whereas Jensen uses Facebook to extend his work as a polemist. Moreover, the analysis argues that both intellectuals perform a private self and position themselves vertically and authoritatively in relation to their followers. In addition, like most other Facebook users, they also promote themselves and their activities. Habermas once pointed to social media’s ambivalences vis à vis the intellectual. The article’s analysis substantiates this claim.

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“…However, Bourdieu's skeptical view of non-academic intellectuals risks overlooking the importance of such actors in public debate. In recent years, intellectuals such as bloggers, journalists, columnists and TV pundits have emerged as influential figures in public discourse (Baert and Booth, 2012;Dahlgren, 2012;Ostertag and Ortiz, 2013): indeed, 'mass media itself and the public communication it makes possible, are coming to serve as an independent basis of social authority' (Jacobs and Townsley, 2011, p. 167). His prejudice against intellectuals without academic capital thus risks a myopic view of how intellectuals interact (and should interact) with the public, which ignores or discounts the role of other participants in more diversified public spheres characterized by proliferation of social media and 'ordinary voices'.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Richard Dawkins as a public intellectual after The God Delusion: A British study

Ushiyama

2014

Am J Cult Sociol

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This article informs sociology of intellectuals through a case study of Richard Dawkins' public reputation after the publication of The God Delusion. It uses positioning theory and cultural sociology's distinction between traditional intellectuals and media intellectuals to argue that Dawkins' self-positioning was inherently constrained by subsequent positioning by media intellectuals, and that the latter is more important than the former in setting Dawkins' divisive reputation in public discourse. In particular, this article highlights five positioning techniques that are instrumental in constructing Dawkins' reputation: (i) labeling and packaging of 'militant atheism' and 'New Atheism'; (ii) positioning of allies and opponents; (iii) positioning with cultural values; (iv) positioning with the civil sphere; and (v) positioning of Dawkins' intellectual authority. The article ends with questions and suggestions for pursuing a more culturally sensitive sociology of intellectuals.

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Public Intellectuals, Online Media, and Public Spheres: Current Realignments

Cited by 23 publications

References 8 publications

From Ivory Tower to Cross-Media Personas

From Ivory Tower to Cross-Media Personas

Danske intellektuelle på Facebook - eksemplificeret ved Svend Brinkmann og Carsten Jensen

Richard Dawkins as a public intellectual after The God Delusion: A British study

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