Muslim Public Self-Presentation: Interrogating the Liberal Public Sphere

Muslim Public Self-Presentation: Interrogating the Liberal Public Sphere

I n this article I want to address a number of issues thrust into the open by different manifestations of Islamist politics and the intersection of religion and identity politics in Western societies. This intersection should be read in conjunction with the emergence in Muslimmajority societies of forms of political activism that ground themselves in Islamic doctrines and invoke religious tradi...

Public sphere and intellectual discourses in Iran

Public Service and Liberal Democracy

The debate on television’s "public service"obligations can only make full sense if integrated in the broader context of the debate on the best political model for society. In fact, the classic "public service"rationale is based in a normative conception of good and in a suspicious view of the average citizen that is largely tributary of a Platonic or Elitist approach to the political organizati...

Gamification in the Public Sphere

Those in the community of gaming theory and practice have pigeonholed gamification as a term. It is generally considered that it means applying gaming principles to non-gaming environments. Gaming theorists like Richard Bartle, wedded to his dated MUD model of gamers, speak out against gamification with passion, setting out why it never works and how videogames stand in their own right. Those i...

Neuroscience in the Public Sphere

The media are increasingly fascinated by neuroscience. Here, we consider how neuroscientific discoveries are thematically represented in the popular press and the implications this has for society. In communicating research, neuroscientists should be sensitive to the social consequences neuroscientific information may have once it enters the public sphere.