INSTRUCTIONS
This is an open book exam: you may use any books or notes that you wish, however, you MAY NOT discuss the questions or your answers with anyone until the exam has been graded and returned to you.

Answer one question for each Part.
Read all questions carefully. Make sure that you completely answer all parts of each question you select. Plan to devote three to four pages, and at least one hour of time, to each question that you answer. Please put your name on each page of the exam, number the pages, and staple or paper clip the pages together.

Exams are due no later than 4:30 p.m., Fri. March 30 in my MAILBOX, in the stairwell/entry-way of Pleasants Hall. Early exams are happily accepted.

PART I (45%) Answer only one question

1. Habermas describes the self-conceptualization of the enlightenment bourgeoisie in terms of private people coming together to form a public through discussion and rational debate. The bourgeois conceptualization of public opinion growing out of a public sphere stands in contrast to the earlier concept of representative publicity held during and after the middle ages. The bourgeois conceptualizations of public opinion and publicity can also be contrasted with the way these terms have come to be understood today. A) Compare & contrast the enlightenment bourgeois views of public opinion and publicity with the earlier feudal conceptualization of "representative publicity." B) Compare and contrast the enlightenment bourgeois ideals with the modern day conceptualizations of public opinion and publicity.

2. In the 18th century, representative democracy emerged as a form of national government on this continent and in much of Europe. In some cases, basic rights were explicitly stated in the constitutions setting up this type of government. An example of such constitutional guarantees can be found in the first ten amendments to the U.S. constitution, appropriately called "Bill of Rights" (You received a copy in class, or you can link to a copy of the Constitution here http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am1 and scroll down to the amendments).
According to Habermas, as discussed in class, these guarantees can be analyzed in terms of three distinct types of rights, each of which can be understood as related to the idealized distinctions between bourgeois public and private spheres.
A) Identify the three types of rights, and explain how each is related to the conceptualization of public and private spheres. B) What led to enshrinement of these particular types of rights, that is, what were the historical conditions in which bourgeois constitutional democracies arose; what were they opposed to? C) Carefully examine Amendments I through VIII. Identify which of the three basic types of rights each amendment is designed to protect. Explain your answer.

PART II (55%) Answer only one question

3. Ober and Hedrick write about different aspects of ancient Athenian democracy. Drawing on their writings, and class discussion, answer the following. A) What was the prevailing attitude about the importance of political participation in ancient Athens? B) What, according to Hedrick, were the relationships between writing and democratic processes, and between oral communication and democratic processes in 5th century b.c.e. Athens? C) Compare and contrast the classical Athenian and the enlightenment bourgeois conceptualizations of the relationship between democratic processes and the public and private realms. 

4. Nancy Frazer, in her chapter in the Calhoun book (pp.109-142), critiques Habermas' conceptualization of the bourgeois public sphere. Briefly outline/summarize her argument, paying particular attention to A) identifying and explaining her areas of agreement (if any) with Habermas; B) identifying and explaining her own conceptualization of more democratic public spheres (hint: she identifies and examines in detail four sets of issues).

 5. Michael Schudson, in his chapter in the Calhoun book (pp.143-163), critiques assumptions that politically and culturally, American "contemporary life represents a decline from some great and golden age" (p. 141). Briefly outline/summarize his argument, paying particular attention to the following: A) Identify and explain the two criteria or "defining features of [a] political public sphere" (p. 146) that he chooses to focus on. How did these two criteria play out in U.S. history?; B) What does Schudson conclude about the existence of a classical bourgeois public sphere historically in the U.S.? C) Does Schudson feel that the ideal of a public sphere serves any useful purpose? Explain.