1st Edition
Civil Society Ideas, Interpretations, Transgressions
Civil Society: Ideas, Interpretations, Transgressions is essential to learning about the place and importance of civil society in creating and maintaining a liberal democracy. Edyta B. Pietrzak takes us on a journey of interpretation, addressing the critical role the idea of a civil society has for our world and how it has evolved over time. She uncovers the meanings of theories and clarifies ways of thinking that are sensitive to peculiarities, intermittences, contrasts, or unique things.
Part I introduces the theory and key terms. What is the public sphere and how can it be understood? Is it synonymous with civil society or does it only establish its area of activity? It aims to illustrate how social life has changed over centuries and its basic components have been experienced and interpreted in various ways.
Part II represents a collection of interpretations and approaches to the idea of civil society. Pietrzak begins with the traditional Republican interpretation, continues with liberal, Hegelian, sociological, and historical‑materialistic interpretations, and concludes with modern communitarian and neo‑liberal concepts.
Part III reminds us that civil society is not an abstract concept, nor does it exist in a vacuum or out of context. When describing the process of change and transformation in civil society, reference must be made to transgressions. Here we learn about issues such as transnational civil society, citizenship and diversity, feminist citizenship, and civil society in the era of the Anthropocene, to name a few.
Part I: Ideas Introduction to Part I 1. The Private and Public Spheres 2. The Social Sphere 3. The Autonomous Public Sphere 4. The Politicization of Social Life 5. The Critique of the Private-Public Dichotomy 6. The Global Public Sphere 7. Space, Time, and Communication 8. The Global Social Sphere Part II: Interpretations Introduction fo Part II 9. Republican Interpretations 10. Liberal Interpretations 11. The Kantian Interpretations 12. Hegelian Interpretations 13. Tocquevillian Interpretations 14. Marxist Interpretations 15. Contemporary Interpretations 16. Global Interpretations Part III: Transgressions Introduction to Part III 17. Transnational Civil Society 18. The Inclusive and Exclusionary Potential of Citizenship 19. Feminist Citizenship 20. Citizenship and Diversity 21. Refugee, Migrant and Nomad Citizens 22. Civil Society in the Era of the Anthropocene 23. New Materialism and Non-Human Actors of Civil Society 24. Digital Public Sphere and Citizenship. Conclusion of Part III Final Conclusion
Biography
Edyta B. Pietrzak is an associate professor at the Lodz University of Technology and a lecturer at the Erasmus Mundus Master’s Degree in Women’s and Gender Studies (GEMMA), ECIU University and TUL Citizen Science Research Field Coordinator. Pietrzak is also Editor‑in‑Chief of the journal Civitas Hominibus and Cofounder of The Human Being‑Business‑Technologies Open Academic Seminars. Her research interests include civil society, the politics of diversity, and women’s studies.
This book provides an important understanding of the place and value of a civil society in securing the development in some cases, and the maintenance in other cases, of liberal democracy. And thus it represents a way to advance liberal democracy in spite of the authoritarian tendencies now afoot that threaten it.
Steven M. DeLue, Professor Emeritus Political Science, Miami University
Pietrzak's study of civil society is sophisticated and nuanced, analysing it as a philosophical proposition with many challenges and "transgressions." Approaching civil society as one of the most important political questions of our time, the discussion in this book is both historically focused and urgently timely.
Tim Dale, Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Wisconsin La Crosse
