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The Public Sphere and Comparative Historical Research

An Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 January 2016

Andreas Koller
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Abstract

In state-of-the-field surveys of historical sociology and of historical social science at large, the study of the public sphere is missing. The rise of historical social science has not led to an established tradition of comparative historical research on the public sphere. This article gives an introduction to this topic and to this special issue, seeking to clarify the definition of the object of study and its stakes and providing an overview of analytic and historical dimensions relevant to the comparative historical study of the public sphere. The article argues that this search for an integrative framework is a necessary condition for well-defined comparative historical research, for incorporating the fragmented research from numerous disciplines, and thus for improving our understanding of the historical formation and the transformations of this central sphere of social life.

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Type
Special Section: History and the Social Sciences: Taking Stock and Moving Ahead
Information
Social Science History , Volume 34 , Issue 3: In Honor of Charles Tilly , Fall 2010, pp. 261 - 290
Copyright
Copyright © Social Science History Association 2010 

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