From listening... to the dialogic realities of participatory democracy

The idea of listening offers a means of reframing contemporary media theory and the

project of cultural studies in such a way that the ‘other half’ of communication can enter

the picture on an equal footing. Many of the implications, both politically and

conceptually, of such a move were canvassed in a special issue of Continuumin 2009.This

paper engages with the themes of the special issue and elaborates on the implications

through a consideration of core issues from perspectives not covered in that issue. We

draw particularly on the traditions of hermeneutics, pragmatism and social constructionismto

refashion the idea of communicating so that intersubjectivity and praxis are brought

to the fore. This refashioning provides the basis for a critical consideration of what it can

mean to engage in dialogue. Ideas of dialogue driven by the presumption of shared

understanding are discarded in favour of a form of dialogic listening across difference.We

proceed to show how these ideas contribute to the heart of the Listening Project’s research

agenda: understanding and meeting the challenges of democratic dialogue.