The World's First Full Press Freedom

The Radical Experiment of Denmark-Norway 1770–1773
Buch | Hardcover
XV, 551 Seiten
2022
De Gruyter Oldenbourg (Verlag)
978-3-11-077123-7 (ISBN)
59,95 inkl. MwSt
The book charts an extraordinary period in Danish history: the "Press Freedom Period" of 1770-73, in which King Christian 7's physician J.F. Struensee introduced a series of radical enlightenment reforms beginning with the total abolishment of censorship. The book investigates the sudden avalanche of pamphlets and debates, initiating the modern public sphere of Denmark-Norway. Publications show a surprising variety, from serious political, economic, and philosophical treatises over criticism, polemics, ridicule, entertainment, and to spin campaigns, obscenities, libel, threats. A successful coup against Struensee led to his subsequent public execution in Copenhagen, and the latter half of the period saw the gradual smothering of the new public sphere as well as an international pamphlet storm over what was happening in Denmark. Readers all over Europe proved curious to learn about the radical experiment with enlightened absolutism in Denmark; interest was heightened by the involvement of the Danish Queen, the English princess Caroline Matilda to whom Struensee had an intimate relation. The book is a detailed portrayal of a seminal event in the development of the public sphere in Europe.

Scholars in the field of media studies, 18th-century history, Enlightenment intellectual history, Danish history.

"'Denmark-Norway', a single kingdom in early modern times, was the first Western society to decree full freedom of the press without restriction or censorship. Being far ahead of Britain, France and North America in this respect, the press freedom brought in the Danish realms in 1770-73 created a huge drama and international furore. This excellent book provides the first comprehensive account in English of one of the great landmark events of world history in the Enlightenment era." - Jonathan Israel, Professor Emeritus, Princeton Institute for Advanced Study

"This is the first exhaustive study of the astonishing Press Freedom experiment that took place at the fringes of European Enlightenment. The book offers a rich and entertaining account of the eruption of new voices, topics, tones and self-reflective communication practices that came with the sudden liberty. Historians have formerly dismissed the Press Freedom writings as "a mud bath of trash literature" and "a Walpurgis Night of rudeness, stupidity and meanness". In today's fast-changing and challenging media landscape, the remarkable years of Press Freedom gain new relevance. Ulrik Langen and Frederik Stjernfelt's study is a compelling demonstration of the importance of this moment, in the history of Denmark-Norway as well as in the general history of freedom of expression." - Ellen Krefting, Professor of Intellectual History, University of Oslo, Norway.

Erscheinungsdatum
Zusatzinfo color maps
Verlagsort Basel/Berlin/Boston
Sprache englisch
Maße 170 x 240 mm
Gewicht 1060 g
Themenwelt Geschichte Allgemeine Geschichte Neuzeit (bis 1918)
Geisteswissenschaften Geschichte Regional- / Ländergeschichte
Schlagworte Aufgeklärter Absolutismus • Dänemark • Denmark. • enligthened absolutism • freedom of expression • Johann Friedrich von • Meinungsfreiheit • Struensee • Struensee, Johann Friedrich von
ISBN-10 3-11-077123-3 / 3110771233
ISBN-13 978-3-11-077123-7 / 9783110771237
Zustand Neuware
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