Øyvind Ihlen - Public Relations and Social Theory: Key Figures, Concepts and Developments

Public Relations and Social Theory: Key Figures, Concepts and Developments broadens the theoretical scope of public relations studies by applying the work of a group of prominent social theorists to make sense of the practice. The volume focuses on the work of key social theorists, including Max Weber, Karl Marx, John Dewey, Jrgen Habermas, Niklas Luhmann, Michel Foucault, Ulrich Beck, Pierre Bourdieu, Anthony Giddens, Robert Putnam, Erving Goffman, Peter L. Berger, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Bruno Latour, Dorothy Smith, Zygmunt Bauman, Harrison White, John W. Meyer, Luc Boltanski and Chantal Mouffe. Each chapter is devoted to an individual theorist, providing an overview of that theorists key concepts and contributions, and exploring how these can be applied to public relations as a practice. Each chapter also includes a box giving a short and concise presentation of the theorist, along with recommendation of key works and secondary literature.

yvind Ihlen is professor at the Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo and co-director of POLKOM Centre for the Study of Political Communication. He has over 100 publications, including the award-winning edited Handbook of Communication and Corporate Social Responsibility (2011, with Jennifer Bartlett and Steve May) and Handbook of Organizational Rhetoric (2018, with Robert L. Heath). Ihlen is past president of the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA).

Magnus Fredriksson is associate professor at the Department of Journalism, Media and Communication at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. His research focuses on strategic communication in general and strategic communication in public sector organizations in particular. His work has been published in European Journal of Communication, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Organization Studies, Public Administration, Public Relations Inquiry, Public Relations Review and elsewhere.

ROUTLEDGE COMMUNICATION SERIES

Jennings Bryant/Dolf Zillmann, Series Editors

Selected titles include:

Moore et al: Advertising and Public Relations Law

Conrad: The Business of Sports: Off the Field, in the Office, on the News

Petronio: Balancing the Secrets of Private Disclosures

Smith et all: Perspectives on Radio and Television: Telecommunication in the United States, 4th Edition

Sterling et al: Mass Communications Research Resources: An Annotated Guide

Vocate: Intrapersonal Communication: Different Voices, Different Minds

Second edition published 2018

by Routledge

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and by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2018 Taylor & Francis

The right of yvind Ihlen and Magnus Fredriksson to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

First edition published 2009

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Names: Ihlen, yvind, editor. | Fredriksson, Magnus, editor.

Title: Public relations and social theory : key figures and concepts / edited by yvind Ihlen and Magnus Fredriksson.

Description: Second edition. | New York, NY : Routledge, 2018.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017053152| ISBN 9781138281295 (hardback) | ISBN 9781138281301 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Public relations--Evaluation. | Public relations--Research. | Social sciences--Philosophy. | Social scientists.

Classification: LCC HM1221 .P775 2018 | DDC 659.201--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017053152

ISBN: 978-1-138-28129-5 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-138-28130-1 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-27123-1 (ebk)

This volume has a history going back to 2003, when Magnus Fredriksson first conceived the idea of pulling together work on social theorists and public relations in a book format. While originally an effort of Scandinavian scholars unhappy with the functionalist bias in public relations theory, we are glad to say that the idea was welcomed by scholars from all over. That is, the list of contributors now represents scholars working in a wide range of countries: Austria, Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the US

Our approach first resulted in a special issue of Public Relations Review that was published in Fall 2007. At this time Betteke van Ruler also joined the editorial team. The special issue Public Relations Review, 33(3) contained the following articles:

Burkart, R. (2007). On Jurgen Habermas and public relations.

Falkheimer, J. (2007). Anthony Giddens and public relations: A third way perspective.

Holmstrm, S. (2007). Niklas Luhmann: Contingency, risk, trust and reflection.

Ihlen, . (2007). Building on Bourdieu: A sociological grasp of public relations.

Johansson, C. (2007). Goffmans sociology: An inspiring resource for developing public relations theory.

Motion, J., & Leitch, S. (2007). A toolbox for public relations: The oeuvre of Michel Foucault.

Wraas, A. (2007). Legitimacy and legitimation: The relevance of Max Weber for public relations.

Extended and reworked versions of these articles formed the backbone of the first edition of Public Relations and Social Theory published in 2009. In addition, however, we added new texts on the likes of Ulrich Beck (by Magnus Fredriksson), Peter L. Berger (by Mats Heide), Bruno Latour (by Piet Verhoeven), Leon Mayhew (by Richard C. Stanton), Robert Putnam (by Vilma Luoma-aho), Dorothy E. Smith (by Lana F. Rakow and Diana Iulia Nastasia) and Gayatri Charkravorty Spivak (by Mohan J. Dutta).

Now, in 2017, with the arrival of this second edition, we have updated and rewritten most of these chapters, while also adding new ones on Zygmunt Bauman (by Magda Pieczka), Harrison White (by Peter Winkler and Stefan Wehmeier), John W. Meyer (by Josef Pallas and Emilia Kvarnstrm), Luc Boltanski (by Lee Edwards), John Dewey (by Lana Rakow), Karl Marx (by C. Kay Weaver) and Chantal Mouffe (by Scott Davidson and Judy Motion).

The introduction chapter that follows contains excerpts from the first edition, and we thank Betteke van Ruler for allowing us to reuse this material. We are also very grateful for the work we did together on the first edition!

The conclusion chapter is an updated version from the first edition, but also contains excerpts from Ihlen, ., & Verhoeven, P. (2012). A public relations identity for the 2010s. Public Relations Inquiry, 1(2), 159176, and Ihlen, ., & Verhoeven, P. (2014). Social theories for strategic communication. In D. R. Holtzhausen & A. Zerfass (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Strategic Communication