Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Decolonising Communication Studies: Advancing the Discipline Through Fermenting Participation Studies

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Media and Communication Research in Africa

Abstract

In this chapter we engage with the so-called ‘ferment in the field’ debate that has shaped much of the discourse around the direction, disciplinary, epistemological and methodological grounding of the broader media and communications field since the 1980s. This debate is ultimately about strengthening and advancing media and communications scholarship. That said, it continues to overlook developments in epistemology as well as methodology in and from an African context. As such, the discipline, epistemologies and methodologies that underpin scholarly research have remained lodged in the global North and isolated from scholarship of the South. To advance the discipline as a whole, the ferment in the field debate will have to take account of scholarship from locations other than the global North; in particular, scholarship that is grounded in quintessentially African philosophical insights, as well as converging on notions of participation studies.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 219.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 279.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The African philosophy of ubuntu has in scholarly work been likened to European ideas of communitarianism. While we do not have space to set out the differences as well as overlaps in thoughts, it is worth noting is that ubuntu as well as communitarianism hold the community as ‘ontologically prior to person and serves as an antidote to mainstream libertarianism’ (Christians, 2004, p. 235).

References

  • Appiah, K. A. (2010). Europe upside-down: Fallacies of the new Afrocentricism. In R. Grinker, S. Lubkemann, & C. Steiner (Eds.), Perspectives on Africa: A reader in culture, history, and representation (pp. 48–54). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armah, A. K. (1968). The beautyful ones are not yet born. London: Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Babbie, E., & Mouton, J. (2001). The practice of social research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, L. D. (1993). Social change through collective reflection with Asian nongovernmental organizations. Human Relations, 46(2), 249–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buber, M. 1987. I and Thou (R. G. Smith, Trans.). New York: Collier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casarino, C., & Negri, A. (2009). In praise of the common: A conversation on philosophy and politics. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Casas, M. (2006). WAN & activist research: Toward building decolonial and feminist projects. Journal of the World Anthropology Network, 1(2), 75–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chasi, C. (2015). How to speak of ending apartheid humanities: Transformation, renaissance, metamorphosis or resurrection? Journal of Public Administration, 50(2), 174–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chasi, C., & Rodny-Gumede, Y. (2016). Smash and grab, truth and dare…. International Communication Gazette, 78(7), 694–700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christians, C. G. (1997). The ethics of being in a communication context. In C. Christians & M. Traber (Eds.), Communication ethics and universal values. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christians, C. G. (2004). Ubuntu and communitarianism in media ethics. Ecquid Novi, 25(2), 235–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Comaroff, J., & Comaroff, J. L. (2011). Theory from the South or how Euro-America is evolving towards Africa. London: Boulder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell, R. (2007). Southern theory: The global dynamics of knowledge in social science. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Curran, J., & Park, M.-J. (2000). Beyond globalization theory. In J. Curran & M.-J. Park (Eds.), De-westernizing media studies (pp. 3–18). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dlamini, J. (2015). Askari: A story of collaboration and betrayal in the anti-apartheid struggle. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fals-Borda, O., & Rahman, M. A. (1991). Action and knowledge: Breaking the monopoly with participatory action-research. New York: Apex Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. 2000. Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). New York: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerbner, G., & Siefert, M. (Eds.). (1983). The ferment in the field. Journal of Communication, 33(3).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, R. (1996). Critical theory and education. London: Hodder and Stoughton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1991). The consequences of modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giroux, H. (1992). Paulo Freire, post-colonial discourse, and the politics/pedagogy of border crossings. Journal of Advanced Composition, 12(1), 15–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guardjardo, M., Guardjardo, F., & Locke, L. (2017). An introduction to ecologies of engaged scholarship: Stories from activist-academics. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 30(1), 1–5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guardjardo, M., Guardjardo, F., Oliver, J., Valdez, M. M., Henderson, K., & Keawe, L. O. (2012). A conversation on political imagination and advocacy for educational leadership. UCEA Review, 53(3), 19–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guattari, F. (2015). Lines of flight: For another world of possibilities. London: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamelink, C. J. (1983). Emancipation or domestication: Toward a Utopian science of communication. Journal of Communication, 33, 74–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardt, M., & Negri, A. (2009). Commonwealth. Cambridge: The Belknap Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herbst, S. (2008). Disciplines, intersections, and the future of communication research. Journal of Communication, 58(4), 603–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaspersen, L. B. (2000). Anthony Giddens. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khun, T. (1962). The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd ed.). Chicago: Chicago University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levy, M., & Gurevitch, M. (Eds.). (1993). The future of the field—Between fragmentation and cohesion. Journal of Communication, 43(3–4).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mbembe, A. (2001). Ways of seeing: Beyond the new nativism. African Studies Review, 44(2), 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Metz, T. (2011). Ubuntu as a moral theory and human rights in South Africa. African Human Rights Law Journal, 11, 532–559.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, T. (2012). Blow up the humanities. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohanty, C. T. (2003). Feminism without borders. London: Duke University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Moreton-Robinson, A. (2000). Talkin’ up the white woman: Aboriginal women and the feminist. St Lucia, QLD: University of Queensland Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, G. (Ed.). (1983). Beyond method: Strategies for social research. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muwanga-Zake, J. W. F. (2010). Narrative research across cultures: Epistemological concerns in Africa. Current Narratives, 1(2), 67–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noam, E. (1993). Reconnecting communications studies with communication policy. Journal of Communication, 43(3), 199–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfau, M. (2008). Epistemological and disciplinary intersections. Journal of Communication, 58(4), 597–602.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodny-Gumede, Y. (2015). Re-conceptualising the analysis of trajectories of media development in post-colonial societies. Journal of Global Media and Communication, 11(2), 131–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schramm, W. (1983). The unique perspective of communication: A retrospective view. Journal of Communication, 33(3), 6–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seedat, M. (1997). The quest for a liberatory psychology. South African Journal of Psychology, 27, 261–270.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smythe, D., & Van Dinh, T. (1983). On critical and administrative analysis: A new critical analysis. Journal of Communication, 33(3), 117–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Struwig, F. W., & Stead, G. B. (2013). Research: Planning, designing and reporting (2nd ed.). Cape Town: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Terreblanche, M., Durrheim, K., & Painter, M. (2008). Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences. Cape Town: UCT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, K. H. (1998). Anthony Giddens and modern social theory. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Tuhiwai-Smith, L. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous people. New York: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • wa Thiong’o, N. (1993). Moving the centre: The struggle for cultural freedoms. Nairobi: EAEP.

    Google Scholar 

  • wa Thiongʼo, N. (2009). Something torn and new an African renaissance. New York: Basic Civitas Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiler, K. (1998). Women teaching for change. West Port, CT: Bergin & Garvey Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, R. (1990). A critical theory of education: Habermas and our children’s future. New York: Teacher’s College Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Studies, School of Communication, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Colin Chasi

  2. Department of Journalism, Film and Television, School of Communication, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Ylva Rodny-Gumede

Authors
  1. Colin Chasi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ylva Rodny-Gumede
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Bruce Mutsvairo

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Chasi, C., Rodny-Gumede, Y. (2018). Decolonising Communication Studies: Advancing the Discipline Through Fermenting Participation Studies. In: Mutsvairo, B. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Media and Communication Research in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70443-2_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation