Initially propounded by the philosopher Jurgen Habermas in 1962 in order to describe the realm of social discourse between the state on one hand, and the private sphere of the market and the family on the other, the concept of a bourgeois public sphere quickly became a central point of reference in the humanities and social sciences.

Introduction: Changing Perceptions of the Public Sphere Christian J. Emden and David Midgley Part I: Publics Before the Public Sphere Chapter 1. A Public Sphere before Kant? Habermas and the Historians of Early Modern Germany Joachim Whaley Chapter 2. Kunigunde of Bavaria and the “Conquest of Regensburg”: Politics, Gender, and the Public Sphere in 1489 Sarah Westphal Chapter 3. Publishing the Private in Early Modern Europe: The Rise of Secret History Peter Burke Part II: Thinking about Enlightenment Publics Chapter 4. Private, Public, and Structural Change: The German Problem Nicholas Boyle Chapter 5. The Second Life of the “Public Sphere”: On Charisma and Routinization in the History of a Concept John H. Zammito Part III: Cultural Politics and Literary Publics Chapter 6. Probing the Limits: The Contribution of Literary Writing to Defining the Public Sphere David Midgley Chapter 7. Habermas Anticipated: The Eighteenth-Century Public Sphere as “Theatre of the World” in Edward Lytton Bulwer’s Devereux (1829) and Karl Gutzkow’s Richard Savage (1839) Martina Lauster Chapter 8. Karl Kraus and the Transformation of the Public Sphere in Early Twentieth-Century Vienna Edward Timms Notes on Contributors Bibliography Index

“The eight well-edited essays selected by Christian J. Emden and David Midgley create a good balance between critical and consenting perspectives on Juergen Habermas’ idea of the public sphere… this anthology is not only complementary to Habermas’ model (by taking, for instance, earlier developments into consideration, as Habermas did) but also expands on it, by discussing his work in the light of the critiques that have been levied against it. As a result, this very interesting volume pays respect to the merits of his model, but also to the need to remodel it.”  ·  European Review of History/Revue Europèenne d'Histoire "An impressive collection of essays with contributions from a stellar cast, including leading authorities from a variety of disciplines, notably cultural, intellectual and literary history... nicely balanced, [the volume] does justice to the richness and complexity of Habermas’s ideas and offers fresh perspectives on its heuristic uses.”  ·  Martin A. Ruehl, Cambridge University