Abstract
This paper explores the literature on audience and citizenship with the aim of catching sight
of some latent and subterranean trends where embryonic and potential developments of
the field may
reside. By putting together three research routes within the most recent
literature, respectively focused on listening, temporality and epistemology, the analysis
shows how their juxtaposition illuminates an overlooked political dimension of reception
that has to do with the
pure
interpretative endeavour which in itself contains some of the
elements that nurture the experience of public connection. This enriched understanding of
reception as a site for civic agency is made possible by a cross
-
fertilization
between
hermeneutical philosophy (Ricoeur, 1991; Alejandro, 1993) and media research. Drawing
upon Ricoeur’s notion of second
-
order reference as a possible world that is disclosed
in
front
of the text, the paper demonstrates how the performative power exe
rted by media in
convening and constituting publics derives and at the same time overcomes the content
boundaries of the text, being rooted in the interpretative tasks of our human condition.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 392-401 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | PARTICIPATIONS |
Volume | 13 |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Keywords
- civic agency
- hermeneutics
- interpretation