Topic > Public Spaces - 1787

The inflation of many political contexts is the transformation of the association between public and private life that has helped shape the development of modern societies. The 20th century witnessed a concerned debate about the power of the state and the market that was overwhelming private life. Gradually, in the 21st century, the social problem has changed and is seen as the disappearance of public life by the domestic processes of the private sphere. The public and private spheres have clear and distinctive boundaries, which have been the key formation of the modern imagination and move to structure practices, discourses and institutions. However, there is a significant difference that shows that boundaries are being “shifted” (Morley 2003), whereby national culture is shaped around public representations and industries. Anna McCarthy argues that: public spaces are not purely and evidently public; they are, like any other cultural space, characterized by particular configurations of public and private. Indeed, what makes the public/private divide such an important category of social power is that it is dynamic and flexible, varying from place to place. (McCarthy, 2001: 121) In cultural studies, we associate spheres and spaces as characteristic places that are distinct places where moments of publicity and privacy occur. This links to the idea that domestic life is still considered different from the public sphere through a variety of discourses that feed into everyday lifestyles. This is because we live in globalized societies, characterized by mobility and ease of access through new digital technologies. However, availability on mobile topics may be different from others, as some cannot afford...... middle of paper ......gia and privacy: the new landscape. San Diego: MIT Press. 1-21.Arendt, H. (2009). Action of immigrants and space of appearance. Political theory. 37 (5), 595-622. Aslama, M (2006). Intellectual Scaffolding: On Peter Darlgren's Theorizing of Television and the Public Sphere. New York: Donald McGannon Communication Research Center. 1-31.Hollows, J. (2008). Domestic cultures. Berkshire: Open University Press. 115-134.Ling, R (1997). Cell phones and disruption of the public sphere. 2nd ed. Stockholm: L. Haddon. 1-17.Papastergiadis, N. (2013). Mega screens for mega cities. Theory, culture and society. 0 (0), 1-17.Sheller, M and Urry J. (2003). Mobile transformations of 'public' and 'private' life. Theory, culture and society. 20 (3), 107-125.Thompson, J. (2011). Shifting the boundaries of public and private life. Theory, culture and society. 28 (4), 49-70.