The relentless political pressure the Ethiopian government put on Ethiopian journalists, political dissidents and opposition activists drove hundreds of them out of their country. However, after leaving their country, the journalists and the opposition activists remain engaged in the politics of their country of origin through the media outlets they establish in diaspora. Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) and Oromia Media Network (OMN) are two media platforms that have emerged in the United States under such conditions. This dissertation chronicles the rise of ESAT and OMN and their far reaching political influence in Ethiopia. Using mixed method research, it provides their detailed profiles that range from their inception, to their impact on the Ethiopian public sphere and the Ethiopian government’s response to them, to their reporting of political events in Ethiopia. This research makes the case that ESAT and OMN, through the instrumentality of a transnational public sphere have altered the Ethiopian political dynamics during the last five years. Particularly, ESAT and OMN use Facebook and Twitter as a backbone to gather information and foster relationships with news sources inside Ethiopia; they also transmit uncensored information back to Ethiopia via satellite television. In response to their communication activities, the Ethiopian government seeks to undermine the links that ESAT and OMN have in the country by routinely blocking the internet, requesting Facebook and Twitter to take down their content and jamming their satellite transmissions. The Ethiopian government also responds to the reporting of ESAT and OMN by changing its policy positions on domestic political issues. This illustrates that Ethiopian political exiles remain key players of Ethiopian political dynamics in ways that thoroughly exemplify trans-local reciprocity. It also shows that ESAT and OMN might very well be a prototype of a diaspora community media that keeps grievances alive and magnifies ideological differences they brought with them to the United States. / 2021-01-11

Public conversation is an important aspect of a day-to-day social life in African social world. Its scope also extends into the political realm, be being a critical dimension of democratisation in the continent. This dissertation aims at constructing the contours of an African theology of public conversation. It embarks on the analysis of the notion of ‘public' as understood within the constellations of African politics and African theology, with the aim of establishing the possibility of context-focused theological reflection on the role of public conversation in Africa. Taking a cue from the literature on the interactions between Jürgen Habermas and some theologians, it establishes the possibility of African theological reflection on communicative action and advance contextual sensitivity in theological constructions by bring cultural and local values that are of significance, without necessarily resorting into cultural nostalgia. To this end, the study turns to a detailed study of African palaver, a customary conflict-resolving mechanism, as a model of public conversation. Palaver stands as a paradigm of traditional consensual democracy, which is communally bound, narratively structured and enshrines anamnestic solidarity between the visible and invisible members of a community. It will be argued that the structured interplay between community, narrative and memory makes African palaver an effective tool of communicative action. In order to advance this argument, it will be demonstrated that palaver offers a site of argumentative reasoning, a kind of narrative rationality, conceived as alternative form of communicative rationality to the one suggested by Habermas. On a theological level, the study builds on Johannes Baptist Metz's memory-oriented narrative theology, as embodied by his idea of ‘dangerous memory' and advances the argument for a contextual theological categorisation of memory-oriented (anamnestic) solidarity. In the final analysis, the study provides a hypothetical ground for theological contextualisation on the basis of a symmetrical conversation between culture and theology.

Contemporary K-12 education reform policies have focused heavily on the teaching profession through increased accountability measures and decreased job security. In the rhetoric of contemporary reform, teachers are often praised as heroes capable of overcoming any obstacles and at the same time blamed for the perceived failures of public schools. This dissertation examines the impact of such policies and corresponding representations on the lived experiences of K-12 teachers in North Carolina, specifically highlighting the strategies through which teachers gain rhetorical agency within the discursive space of reform. To do so, I apply an analytical frame of public sphere theory and employ a mixed-methods approach that combines archival methods and fieldwork (e.g. participant observation and interviews). This dissertation argues that teachers' discourses provide alternative narratives to the dominant view that modifying the teaching profession is a cure-all for educational problems. I first develop a history of contemporary education reform in North Carolina and argue that within these discourses, teachers are represented as heroes able to do more work with less pay under increased scrutiny. Then, analyzing images of protest signs collected at the May 16 teacher rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, I argue that teachers rhetorically perform their professional identities as student advocates, champions of public educators, and political dissenters. As such, they dismantle dominant representations of their profession and advance a notion of public education that values collaboration, equitability, and the public good. Last, I examine how teachers negotiate the tension between their goals and the constraints of policy, arguing that contemporary reform undermines teachers' expertise. At the same time, teachers devise strategies to work toward their visions of public education. Such strategies include building relationships, being persistent, de-prioritizing policy, and cultivating community. / Doctor of Philosophy / Contemporary K-12 education reform policies have focused heavily on the teaching profession through increased accountability measures and decreased job security. In the rhetoric of contemporary reform, teachers are often praised as heroes capable of overcoming any obstacles and at the same time blamed for the perceived failures of public schools. This dissertation examines the impact of such policies and corresponding representations on the lived experiences of K-12 teachers in North Carolina. To do so, I employ an approach that combines archival methods and fieldwork (e.g. participant observation and interviews), and rhetorical analysis. This dissertation argues that teachers’ discourses provide alternative narratives to the dominant view that modifying the teaching profession is a cure-all for educational problems. I first develop a history of contemporary education reform in North Carolina and argue that within these discourses, teachers are represented as heroes able to do more work with less pay under increased scrutiny. Then, analyzing images of protest signs collected at the May 16 teacher rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, I argue that teachers rhetorically perform their professional identities as student advocates, champions of public educators, and political dissenters. As such, they dismantle dominant representations of their profession and advance a notion of public education that values collaboration, equitability, and the public good. Last, I examine how teachers negotiate the tension between their goals and the constraints of policy, arguing that contemporary reform undermines teachers’ expertise. At the same time, teachers devise strategies to work toward their visions of public education. Such strategies include building relationships, being persistent, de-prioritizing policy, and cultivating community.

No description available.

This research examined the role of communication – and in particular public relations (PR) and public affairs activities – in the decision-making processes around the proposal to build a bypass road around the city of Aberdeen. The study focused on the relative power of various discourses embodied in the arguments and strategies pursued by the promoters and opponents of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Road (AWPR) to affect eventual outcomes. The research sought to revisit theoretical accounts of democratic decision-making as conceptualised by Habermas (1984) in the deliberations of the public sphere, and Foucault (1970) on the role of discourse in structuring civil debates. In his classic study of New Haven, Dahl (2005) found empirical evidence to support a pluralist paradigm. Yet in Flyvbjerg’s (1998a) study of urban planning in Aalborg, Denmark, Lukes’s theories on the second dimension of power and a Foucauldian conceptualistion of power were found to have more acute explanatory power. These major theories have been applied tentatively to the field of public relations by Burkart (2009) who advocates for the utility of a consensus-oriented approach to public relations (COPR). Motion and Leitch (2009) theorise that discourse analysis provides important analytic tools for PR practitioners. This research used the AWPR issue as a case study spanning four key decision-making phases from 2004 to 2012. These stages include representations to the Scottish Parliament; a public local inquiry (PLI); judicial review to the Court of Session in Edinburgh, and a hearing in the UK Supreme Court. The research drew upon triangulated methodologies including Fairclough’s (2012) political discourse analysis; observations at public meetings; and semi-structured interviews The research found that whilst both sides promoted a range of established discourses and PR strategies, the relative power of these discourses and the implementation of the strategies was determining. Political discourse analysis of key texts from the pivotal post PLI phase of the case study provided evidence of the dominance of discourses around economic development and community over weaker environmental discourses. Save Camphill’s campaign was more effective due in large part to the calibre of the professional public relations advice retained. Road Sense used public relations strategies in the early phases of their campaign but the implementation of these activities tended to be tactical, partial or counter-productive. Road Sense focused resources on a legislative strategy which largely eschewed any further attempt to engage with government, community and media stakeholders. The route of judicial review was unsuccessful due to a combination of second dimension power factors, including the reluctance of the UK courts to intervene in planning issues despite the existence of European directives to protect the environment. The AWPR case study concluded that examples of decision-making, as demonstrated by Save Camphill’s success in altering the route, confirm the existence of both the public sphere and pluralism in action. Yet, following Lukes (2005) and Flyvbjerg (1998a), there is equally evidence of a second dimension power variable which yielded more plausible explanatory accounts of the decision-making in favour of the Scheme at the PLI, and subsequently in the Courts. The case study also finds that a Foucauldian interpretation of discourse is required to fully appreciate the weakness of the environmental agenda at the local level especially when pitted against prevailing discourses of economic growth and the popularity of the contemporary car culture. Against this background, Road Sense’s PR strategies were secondary to their ultimate legislative strategy and lacked the requisite consistency on goal alignment and relationship building in lobbying and media relations. For campaigns to be effectual, public relations professionals must audit the power of prevailing discourses as theorised by Motion and Leitch (2009) before Burkart’s consensus-oriented public relations (COPR) approach can realise pluralist outcomes consistent with deliberative democracy.

This thesis analyses the content of three Arab satellite television talk shows and their reception by women in Jordan. It aims to assess the role of talk shows in the Arab public sphere by engaging with different conceptualisations and criticisms of the public sphere theory, starting with Habermas (1989) influential work. The thesis argues that once the criticisms of the criteria that underpin Habermas original theory are taken into consideration, and alternative conceptualisations by different traditions of democratic theory are considered, contemporary popular media genres like talk shows can be re-evaluated for their role in the public sphere. The thesis aligns itself with conceptualisations of the public sphere as an on-going and continuous process, rather than a concluded state, and argues through the analysis that this process transpires and continues in different contexts, within and beyond the media. Through its theoretical and empirical engagement, the thesis hopes to contribute to research on Arab television genres and its audiences, and their implications for investigations of the Arab public sphere. The thesis employs a multi-method approach to analyse the three talk shows Kalam Nawaem [Soft talk], Ahmar Bel Khat Al Areed [In Bold Red] and Sireh Winfatahet [An Open Case] and their audiences as two contexts where engagements with the public sphere continually take place. First, it uses thematic analysis to examine the content of the talk shows in terms of the issues they discuss and their relation to the Arab public sphere. Second, it also uses formal analysis to examine the structural features of the shows in order to demonstrate how these aspects collaborate to further shape the function of these shows in the public sphere. Third, the thesis analyses the audience research conducted through focus groups with women in Jordan, in order to study audiences perceptions of these shows and their role in the public sphere. The thesis proposes different ways in which these shows discussions can be consequential to the Arab public sphere, and the ways in which these transnational shows and discussions are watched and deciphered by audiences at a national level. Finally, the thesis reflects back on what it has achieved, its methodological limitations and alternatives, as well as future work that can be pursued on this topic.

In Russia and Argentina modernism arrived well before the advent of socioeconomic modernization, and found societies with restricted civil liberties, only nascent middle classes, and virtually non-existent public spheres. Despite these factors, within a span of some fifty years, Petersburg and Buenos Aires turned into vibrant literary capitals rivaling London, New York, and Paris as centers of literary modernism. This dissertation offers a new understanding of the period by exposing the critical role of publishers and cultural patrons in this extraordinary cultural advancement. I argue that they were able to reformulate their countries’ historically ambivalent positions vis-à-vis Western European civilization by working closely with avant-garde literary groups and viii promoting their literary works that combined sometimes contending, sometimes complementary cosmopolitanism and nationalism. My analysis of the interrelated processes of the development of print culture, national identity, and the literary public sphere in Russia and Argentina is informed by Benedict Anderson’s thinking about nationalism and print culture, Pierre Bourdieu’s treatment of publishers as key participants in cultural production, and the concept of the public sphere as seen by Jürgen Habermas. Close reading of select literary works of the 1920s shows that Russian and Argentine “peripheral” experiences, once transformed into artistic creation, became consonant with cultural practices of international modernism precisely because they combined both cosmopolitan and nationalist tendencies. Each of the writers considered—Jorge Luis Borges, Roberto Arlt, Veniamin Kaverin, and Konstantin Fedin—was able to formulate highly original and yet unmistakably national response to modernity. Following the writers’ trajectories from early literary experiments to the works of the late 1920s, when they renounced their youthful deviations and joined the literary (and sometimes even political) establishment, I show how these literary texts renegotiated the issues of national identity by reworking diverse and often “foreign” literary traditions into authentically Russian and Argentine prose. / text

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The virtual public space tends to be articulated as an extension of the contemporary public sphere. However, this is a process that is not being developed horizontally at a global level, there are countries that, like Peru, are identified by the predominant mediation of traditional media, as a consequence of the digital divide, according to which approximately half of the population is still not connected. This study presents the results of a survey of 720 university students in Peru, and our interest lies in describing aspects such as the relationship between trust and consumption of digital media in this country; the main characteristics required of an informative website; the most used interaction mechanisms; and, ultimately, how a group so relevant to Peruvian democracy, such as young university students, tends to channel their participation and experience online. / El espacio público virtual tiende a articularse como una extensión de la esfera pública contemporánea. Sin embargo, este es un proceso que no se está desarrollando horizontalmente a nivel global, hay países que, como Perú, se identifican por la mediación predominante de los medios de comunicación tradicionales, como consecuencia de la brecha digital, según la cual aproximadamente la mitad de la población todavía no está conectada. Este estudio presenta los resultados de una encuesta a 720 estudiantes universitarios en Perú, y nuestro interés radica en describir aspectos como la relación entre la confianza y el consumo de medios digitales en este país; las principales características exigidas de un sitio web informativo; los mecanismos de interacción más utilizados; y, en última instancia, cómo un grupo tan relevante para la democracia peruana, como los jóvenes universitarios, tiende a canalizar su participación y experiencia en línea. / Revisión por pares

Cette thèse contribue aux discussions sur la notion "d'engagement du public en amont", qui a été défendue par des chercheurs pour traiter des nanotechnologies au début du XXIème siècle. Cette notion a été critiquée pour l'absence de lien avec les décisions fonctionnelles. En utilisant l'outil théorique envisagé par Habermas, cette thèse tente d'étudier ce lien, avec une attention particulière portée sur la capacité des Organisations de la Société Civile à accueillir, condenser et répercuter sur la sphère publique les préoccupations sociétales tout en les amplifiant. Alors que la littérature antérieure est plus axée sur la réflexion théorique ou l'étude de cas isolés, la recherche soutenue par des observations sur le long terme est en grande partie absente. Sur la base de l'analyse du contenu et des entretiens, cette thèse mène un travail sur deux questions: si et dans quelle mesure "l'engagement public en amont" envers les nanos pourrait contribuer à un espace public plus vivace; et comment l'influence que les OSC ont acquis dans l'espace public pourrait se transformer en pouvoir communicationnel. La réponse à ces questions est double: d'une part, "l'engagement du public en amont" permet à la société civile d'être mieux informée et de lui permettre plus tôt de prendre part au débat. Si l'implication de la plupart des OSC prend la forme d'une coopération ou d'une argumentation parfois basée sur des rapports d'expertise. D'autre part, quelques OSC se sont retirées de ce domaine compte tenu de la faible portée de leurs propres actions sur les décisions fonctionnelles. / This dissertation contributes to the discussions of the notion 'upstream public engagement', which has been actively advocated by STS scholars in addressing nanotechnologies since the beginning of the twenty-first century. One of the major criticisms of 'upstream public engagement'is its lack of a link with the political system. Drawing on theoretical tools provided by Habermas, this dissertation seeks to examine such a 'link'with a specific focus on the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) to distill, raise and transmit societal concerns in an amplified form to the public spheres. Previous literature has mostly included theoretical reflection or one-off case studies, and research based on long-term observations is scant. Based on content analysis and semi-structured interviews with relevant actors, this dissertation investigates whether and how upstream public engagement could contribute to more vibrant public spheres and facilitate the formation of communicative power. The answer to these questions is twofold: on the one hand, moving public engagement 'upstream' enables CSOs to be better informed and to become part of the debates more quickly. Most CSOs employ cooperative, argumentative, and expertise-based forms of involvement. On the other hand,'upstream pubic engagement'has turned out to be unsuccessful in generating substantial and sustained interest, as some CSOs have quit this field in frustration at the tokenistic engagement.