I ask students in my digital journalism and virtual community/social media courses to read and discuss David Zaret's Origins of Democratic Culture. I explain here why and how the history and origins of the public sphere can inform our forecasts of the future of democracy in the era of many-to-many media.

• The Dewey-Lippmann Debate Today: Negotiating the Divide Between Participatory and Elitist Models of Democracy
• Habermas' Heritage: The future of the public sphere in the network society
• Song of a Citizen (1 1/2 min video)
• Bowling Together: Online Public Engagement in Policy Deliberation (PDF)
• Jay Rosen & Clay Shirky on the Public Sphere (17 1/2 min video)

Latest Public Sphere links.