In dialogue with related fields of inquiry: The interdisciplinarity, normativity and contextuality of audience research

Abstract

This paper explores the borders of audience research with help of interviews of nine scholars who operate in related fields of inquiry. Inspired by the method of interactive interview, our dialogue with these scholars was encouraged by and serve to document the reflexivity involved in audience research in a manner unachievable by a traditional review of literature, offering a complement to CEDAR’s objective to review the field. We identify and illustrate three major constituents by which audience research organizes its borders: interdisciplinarity, normativity and contextuality. We contend that audience research needs to engage more explicitly in a discussion of its repertoire in relation to these three constituents.