From popular science to public spheres

In this chapter Kemmis explains the shift in his thinking from the notion of popular science to Habermas's notion of public spheres. He identifies ten key features of public spheres and argues that collaborative Particpatory Action Research (PAR) projects frequently have these features. He relates these features to the Yirrkala community PAR project involving the Yolngu Indigenous people in northern Australia, an example which shows that when people are committed to working together in critical and self-critical ways over long periods they need to be open-eyed and open-minded if they are to grasp and transform their social realities.