On The Publicity Of British Cities In The Eighteenth Century

The eighteenth century witnessed the enlightenment movement and social transformation. The enlightenment movement gave birth to the ideals of liberty, equality and brotherhood, facilitating the development and formation of democratic ideas and modern civil society. As the main achievement of the eighteenth century Enlightenment movement, public sphere exercised the growing importance of the public which justified the democratic politics.Public sphere is an extension of the civil rights which also works as the index of city modernity. The industrialization and urbanization makes it possible the separation of the private sphere of the household and the public sphere as well as the separation of daily lives and public affairs. The urban cultural development and expanding arenas of sociability like salons, theaters, taverns and coffee-houses along with the Masonic lodges established a venue where the rising middle classes could meet and engage in discussion through which the public made their opinion known. Private persons could deliberate rationally on public affairs and indeed, the collective judgments of "public opinion" could make government more rational. The publicity resulted from public sphere was influential in government decision making, which would give check and balance to the state power.Aiming to discuss publicity practiced in salons, theaters, taverns, coffee-houses and Masonic lodges in British cities, this study applies approaches of Neo-social and cultural history. The time domain of research background, focused from the seventeenth century to the eighteenth century, mainly on the eighteenth century. This study discusses: (1) the specification and operation of literary public sphere; (2) the role played by women in salons and theaters;(3) the role played by Freemasonry members in the formation of modern civil society. This study concludes in three dimensions:1. The publicity practiced in literary public sphere as institutions of sociability like salons, theaters, taverns, coffee-houses and Masonic lodges was helpful in making the government rational and influential in government decision making, exercising check and balance to the state power.2. Women played a certain role in enlarging the public as well as widening the sphere of discussion and debate.3. Whether literary or political related, Freemasonry was situated in the struggle filed of various new thoughts such as liberty, equality, fraternity and the field for pursuing and arguing modern civil society, accelerating the process of British civilization.The study explicates, in the process of the rise, development, and transformation of the British literary public sphere, the historical role played by salons, theaters, taverns and coffee-houses along with Masonic lodges as sites for the practical conduct of publicity where the rising middle class met and discussed and formed public opinion. The framework of this study starts from Habermas's viewpoints of public sphere and publicity, and focuses itself on discussing the correlation between salons, theaters, taverns, coffee-houses and literary public sphere. For historical and theoretical insight,...