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This book reviews the relationship between two grand dichotomies of public and private , looking at the contemporary cultural changes of public sphere induced by the expansion of public displays of intimacies. The research is illustrated by the case study of Budapest, as the city particularized by its historical, political, and social contexts during the past fifty years. The evidence is provided by the comparison of social representations of public and private sphere of three generations, as well as by observations of everyday life in public places. Despite the existing theoretical tradition which emphasizes contemporary decline of public sphere in western societies, I argue that in case of Budapest it went through the process of transformation from the state of private integrated in public life to the state of public sphere being fragmented by private . Therefore, as the outcome of the study, I present my vision of the changes in Budapest suggesting the model of fragmented public sphere.

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Olga Kulebyakina has earned her Master´s degree in Sociology and Social Anthropology from Central European University in 2009.

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