Dissertation by Katharina Heitmann-Werner: Zivilgesellschaft und Stadtteilöffentlichkeit

Katharina Heitmann-Werner examines, using the approach of communicative configuration, how urban public spheres are constituted by civil society actors and analyzes their communication strategies and networks in local public spheres.

ZeMKI member Dr Katharina Heitmann-Werner examines in her dissertation titled “Zivilgesellschaft und Stadtteilöffentlichkeit. Eine akteurszentrierte Analyse der kommunikativen Figuration der Stadt”, which was supervised by professor Dr Andreas Hepp and professor Dr Wiebke Loosen, how urban public spheres are constituted through the communicative practices of civil society actors. She uses the concept of communicative configuration to analyze the socio-spatial construction of local public spheres. Unlike traditional local studies, which focus on media performances, she places emphasis on the networks and communication strategies of the actors involved.

The empirical basis of her study includes the analysis of communicative appearances of selected civil society organizations as well as ten group discussions with 47 participants from 44 different organizations. Her findings provide valuable insights into the dynamics of local public spheres and their development in the context of social and media-related changes.

Heitmann-Werner’s approach is both theoretically grounded and practically relevant, as it places local actors at the center and highlights their role in the communication process. Her work makes an important contribution to the field and offers valuable ideas for future studies on the interaction between civil society actors and local political institutions.

The dissertation can be found here.