(Working) Thesis Title:
On Public Space: The Spatial Transformation of the Public Sphere
Supervisor:
Dr David Madden
Work:
Carla Rivera is an ÐÓ°ÉÂÛ̳-funded PhD at the Department of Sociology, starting in 2023. She holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Pompeu Fabra (UPF) and a MA in Sociology and Social Anthropology at the Central European University (CEU).
Her research focuses on the historical formation of the concept of public space. She examines the intersection of two primary perspectives: the concrete-territorial approach, which views public space as open and accessible urban areas; and the abstract-conceptual approach, which relates to the public sphere and the formation of political opinion. Since 1990s, these two previously independent understandings seem to collide, for public space then starts being used as a concept to define streets and squares not just as physical spaces, but as something else. She examines the way this happened; that is, the way urban voids, today defined as public spaces, started to encompass not just a physical but also a moral dimension, the space of democracy and citizenship. By examining the politics of the French translation of Jürgen Habermas’ öffentlichkeit as espace public, her research seeks to understand how and why this shift occurred. She focuses on the case of Barcelona, particularly on the Olympic Games that took place in 1992, as a main example to illustrate this process and offer insights into the broader implications for modern social and political theory.
She has interests in the divide between social and political theory, Marxism, and the genealogical tradition of Nietzsche, Weber, Foucault, and Elias.
You can access her full CV here.
Publications:
Observatori DESC. 2023. Quan plou sobre mullat. C. Rivera and E. Gutiérrez, Coords. Barcelona: Icaria.
Rivera Blanco, C., (2022). Review of ‘Brujas, caza de brujas y mujeres’. Crítica Penal y Poder, 23.
Rivera Blanco, C., García-Lamarca, M. and Ferreri, M. (2021). Neighbours ≠ vecinas: The politics of language in Barcelona’s housing struggles. Radical Housing Journal, 3(2), pp. 143-155.
Rivera Blanco, C. (2020). Tres grietas fracturan la ciudad. El daño social producido por los procesos de gentrificación. Crítica Penal y Poder, 20, p. 267-281.