Abstract
Digital communication technologies, social web platforms, and mobile communication have fundamentally altered the way we communicate publicly. They have also changed our perception of space, thus making a re-calibration of a spatial perspective on public communication necessary. We argue that such a new perspective must consider the relational logic of public communication, which stands in stark contrast to the plain territorial notion of space common in communication research. Conceptualising the spatiality of public communication, we draw on Löw’s (2016) sociology of space. Her relational concept of space encourages us to pay more attention to (a) the infrastructural basis of communication, (b) the operations of synthesising the relational communication space through discursive practices, and (c) power relations that determine the accessibility of public communication. Thus, focusing on infrastructures and discursive practices means highlighting crucial socio-material preconditions of public communication and considering the effects of the power relations which are inherent in their spatialisation upon the inclusivity of public communication<em>.</em> This new approach serves a dual purpose: Firstly, it works as an analytical perspective to systematically account for the spatiality of public communication. Secondly, the differentiation between infrastructural spaces and spaces of discursive practices adds explanatory value to the perspective of relational communication spaces.
Highlights
Analyses of public communication and concepts of the public sphere have always been linked to questions of citizenship and polity (e.g., Fraser, 2014)
While the dominance of methodolog‐ ical nationalism in the social sciences has long been criticised (e.g., Volkmer, 2014, pp. 11–13), the emer‐ gence of digital networks has made the re‐calibration of a spatial perspective on public communication even more pressing
Media and Communication, 2021, Volume 9, Issue 3, Pages 86 –96. We argue that such a new perspective must consider the relational logic of networked public communication and digital technology, which stands in stark contrast to a plain territorial notion of space (e.g., Kavada & Poell, 2020)
Summary
Analyses of public communication and concepts of the public sphere have always been linked to questions of citizenship and polity (e.g., Fraser, 2014). Thinking about public communication with the terms and con‐ ceptual tools provided by Löw’s sociology of space, we can conceive of specific spatialisations of public com‐ munication as a relational communication space shaped by the complex intermeshing of infrastructured spaces and the spatial patterns of discursive practices. In the remainder of this article, we argue that the concept of relational communication spaces makes rele‐ vant aspects of public communications’ complex spatial structuring visible and accessible for empirical research. We explain why this concept is sensitive to the power relations ingrained in the spatial distribution of discur‐ sive practices and communication infrastructures. We conclude that the concept of rela‐ tional space provides an analytical grid to reveal the spa‐ tiality of public communication which illuminates ques‐ tions of participation, visibility, and exclusion
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
