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Researching publics

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Knowledge Democracy

Abstract

The crisis of representation is felt in both social sciences and democracy. I describe the main features of this crisis and sketch the outlines of a possible way out. Starting from an optimistic viewpoint on what social sciences might accomplish once evolved to a next level, I present a scale for social research that facilitates new ideas about democracy and discuss the notion of “public  ” as a collection of people that can be identified after an event, because they share common experiences during the event. These experiences are expressed in narratives. The method I propose is based on narrative research and transdisciplinary processes to co-create knowledge and meaning. The research process is democratic and the outcomes offer opportunities for social change.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Education and Training for Governance and Active Citizenship in Europe, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Floor Basten

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  1. Floor Basten
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Correspondence to Floor Basten .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Waterbieskreek 40, Leiderdorp, 2353 JH, Netherlands

    Roeland J. in 't Veld

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Basten, F. (2010). Researching publics. In: in 't Veld, R. (eds) Knowledge Democracy. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11381-9_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11381-9_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-11380-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-11381-9

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