The shape of the public sphere in Spain (1860-1899): a dream of generalities

Andrew Ginger

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Abstract

This essay reconsiders the notion of the "public" in liberal Spain in the second half of the nineteenth century, by looking at the words people most often used in relation to it. It argues that the public sphere, as it existed historically in Spain, might not have been so overwhelmingly concerned as we might imagine with public/private distinctions, difference among political parties, the critical fiscal situation, or even nationhood or "communitas". Instead, the notion of the "public" conveyed an aspiration of transforming a single country into a realm of instruction in shared knowledge, a collective governed by directive and prescriptive laws and rights, realised by its administrators. Shimmering on the public sphere’s horizon lay a didactic, jurisprudential, law-bound, hygienic, but un-oppressive realm that would be called Spain.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe configuration of the Spanish public sphere
Subtitle of host publicationfrom the Enlightenment to the indignados
EditorsDavid Jiménez, Leticia Villamediana González
PublisherBerghahn Books
Chapter6
ISBN (Electronic)978-1-78920-236-6
ISBN (Print)978-1-78920-235-9
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2019

Publication series

NameStudies in Latin American and Spanish History
PublisherBerghahn Books
Volume5

Keywords

  • public
  • public sphere
  • Spain
  • liberalism
  • nationalism
  • keywords
  • hygiene

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