Rate My Professor Michael Hofmann

Michael Hofmann, Ph.D., is Professor of Communication and Multimedia Studies at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). He currently holds the position of Graduate Program Coordinator in the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies and serves as Co-Director of Research on Media Associates. Hofmann obtained his Ph.D. in communication summa cum laude from the Free University of Berlin. Before joining FAU, he gained practical experience in public service broadcasting and held academic appointments at universities in West Germany and the United States.

Hofmann's research specializations encompass political communication and international journalism, with a particular focus on the technology, economics, and politics of media and journalism as they relate to the public sphere. His teaching portfolio includes courses on political communication (COM 3500), U.S. journalism (JOU 4004), international media and journalism, and mass media and public discourse.

Through his scholarly output, Hofmann has contributed significantly to the discourse on Jürgen Habermas's theories. Notable publications include his book Habermas's Public Sphere: A Critique, published by Fairleigh Dickinson University Press in 2017, which offers a detailed examination of Habermas's social and political theory from the perspective of contemporary media studies. In 2023, he published Reading Habermas: Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere with Lexington Books, providing a comprehensive reading of Habermas's classic work. Additionally, his peer-reviewed articles include "The structural transformation of the public sphere in the United States," published in 2020, which reviews public sphere theory alongside Habermas's own article on political communication in media society, and "Political Deliberation vs. Social Media Branding in Crisis-Prone Capitalist Democracies: A Discussion of Habermas’s New Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere," published in the Journal of Political Sociology. These works highlight his influence in analyzing how digital media and social platforms affect democratic deliberation.

Hofmann's commitment to student success has been exemplary, as he has advised countless journalism students and mentored many into outstanding MA programs nationwide. For his dedicated service, he was honored with the Florida Atlantic University Service Award in 2020.