If the twentieth century has been
dominated by discussions of the public, public life, and the public sphere, Contemporary Publics argues that, in the
twenty-first century, we must complicate the singularity of that paradigm and
start thinking of our world in terms of multiple, overlapping, and competing publics. In three distinct streams—art,
media and technology, and the intimate life—this volume offers up the
intellectual and political significance of thinking through the plurality of
our publics. “Countering Neoliberal Publics: Screen and Space,” explores how
different artistic practices articulate the challenges and desires of multiple
publics. “Making and Shaping Publics: Discourse and Technology” showcases how
media shape publics, and how new and emerging publics use these technologies to
construct identities. “Commodifying Public Intimacies” examines what happens to
the notion of the private when intimacies structure publics, move into public
spaces, and develop value that can be exchanged and circulated.