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Scholars as European public intellectuals? Media interventions in the 2014 European Parliament election campaign
Title / Series / Name
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Editors
Keywords
European Parliament election
European public sphere
Social sciences and humanities
experts
media commentary
professors
public intellectuals
scholars
Demography
Geography, Planning and Development
European public sphere
Social sciences and humanities
experts
media commentary
professors
public intellectuals
scholars
Demography
Geography, Planning and Development
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/27672
Abstract
This paper presents results from a collaborative research project investigating European scholars from the social sciences and humanities (SSH) who acted as public intellectuals during the 2014 European Parliament (EP) election campaign. We analyze op-ed contributions published in 21 broadsheet newspapers and in 9 EU member states, written by 195 authors who contributed 262 articles. The result is a portrait of European SSH scholars acting as public intellectuals. It shows a clear overrepresentation of male authors of advanced age. Academic reputation and public prestige show an east–west divide, with prominent authors prevalently publishing in renowned “West European” newspapers. Disciplinary background offers the most noticeable differentiations. Political scientists are most active, however, predominantly publishing in domestic settings. By contrast, economists reach out to a wider international audience and write explicitly on EU matters, while intervening sociologists and philosophers, as the most senior intellectuals, examine Europe in its wider international and historical context. Correspondence analysis comprising the content of public interventions, and key characteristics of all contributors, suggests that even during the EU electoral campaign, scholars from the SSH do not necessarily contribute to the rise of a European public sphere, as their interventions are more domestic than European in focus.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2018-03-15
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1080/14616696.2017.1402119