Dewey and Political Communication in the Age of Mediation

• In Event: 47.071 - Deweyan Insights for Living Well in the World With Others

Abstract

This paper employs Dewey’s conception of communication in an analysis of contemporary democratic communication. For Dewey, communication is a social and participatory act, and the full import of communicative environments can only be achieved by direct, fully-embodied and unencumbered communication. The richness and variety of communication environments will thus effect the character of individuals, groups, and the quality of democratic discourse. Democracy is, in no small part, an emergent feature of these environments. This conception suggests rethinking how politics are conducted in the public sphere, in addition to reconsidering why Americans have allowed so much of their everyday experiences to become mediated, and how education can become an anchor for direct, face-to-face engagement.

Author

• Lance E Mason, Indiana University - Kokomo