Rethinking the publics, rethinking politics

From text: This issue of Acta Academica originates in a two-day seminar held at the University of the Free State in October 2012. The purpose of the seminar was twofold. On the one hand, the seminar was conceptualised as part of a broader university-level initiative to contribute to the revitalisation of the humanities through intellectual engagement across disciplines and institutions. On the other hand, the purpose of the seminar was more pointed; it wanted to focus attention on research and perspectives on the public and “publicness”.