Speaking and Listening: The 2011 English Riots

Abstract

This article explores the challenges and opportunities for political listening ( Bickford 1996 ) following the events of August 2011, with a specific focus on the role of the media and citizen responses to media coverage. While the aftermath of the riots hardly gives rise to starry-eyed optimism, I explore an interaction – a conference on media and the riots – where political listening took place and provided the possibility to break down binaries of ‘Us and Them’ that have dominated public debate during and after the disturbances. I argue that although incomplete in this particular instance, political listening can provide the possibility to break out of limiting, damaging binaries and generate alternative spaces to listen, speak and act differently which expand public debate and enrich democratic life.