Abstract
This article draws on theories of political rationality, governmentality and cultural policy as well as historical analysis to examine how a philosophy of 'enlightened democracy' informed the historical formation of PBS. I analyse its early campaign to turn TV viewers into active citizens and show how the citizen subjectivities constructed presupposed a set of knowledge-power relations defined and managed by 'opinion leaders'. Following a cultural studies approach I analyse policy and popular discourses to show how requirements of professionalism, reason, civility and detached objectivity served as a means of differentiating good citizens and as a form of social control.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 62-90 |
Number of pages | 29 |
Journal | Cultural Studies |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1999 |
Keywords
- Citizenship
- Cultural policy
- Enlightened democracy
- Political rationality
- Public affairs
- Public television