Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Call for Abstracts – Communication, Culture & Critique
Deadline: August 15, 2014
Special issue on Africa, Media and Globalization
Guest editor: H. Leslie Steeves, University of Oregon, USA
Consulting editors: Herman Wasserman, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Audrey Gadzekpo, University of Ghana, Ghana; John Hanson, Indiana University, USA

Globalization is not new to Africa, as histories of global conquest and colonial/postcolonial intervention have shaped the continent in recent centuries: the exploits of European explorers, traders and missionaries leading to the so-called ‘scramble for Africa’ and the division of the continent at the Berlin conference of 1884-85; post-independence alignments during the Cold War; and post-Cold War colonization via ideological and political economic processes and structures. However, to the extent that globalization is a process of neoliberal integration of economies and cultures, sub-Saharan Africa has lagged behind other regions of the world and the overwhelming majority of Africans have not benefited from the spread of the global economy. Scholars today argue that Africa’s continued marginalization and exploitation are sustained by new hegemonic powers in Asia that benefit from Africa’s resources. China’s emergence as an economic superpower and its enormous and escalating investment in Africa must be included in analyses of Africa and globalization, as Africa’s global integration is no longer determined predominantly by Western interests. In her popular TED talk Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie speaks eloquently of Africa’s ‘single story’ of victimization, a narrative that contributes to Africa’s enduring erasure in Western media via homogenization, denial of agency, and economic dependence. At the same time, an overarching ‘single story’ discourse overshadows the production and distribution of media content by and for Africans. Further, the historic global movements of African peoples and cultures suggests many untold and under-told stories of globalization, stories unfolding at a rapid pace with growing technology and internet access. The spread of technology raises many questions, such as: in what ways do technologies impose alien values on African communities and/or extend indigenous values?

This special issue of CCC on Africa seeks diverse studies that critically address and illuminate 21st century stories about media and globalization relevant to Africa at multiple levels of observation and analysis. CCC is primarily a qualitative journal of the International Communication Association that publishes critical and interpretive research in media, communication, and cultural studies. Articles may focus primarily on phenomena relevant to one country, group or region, or may be comparative (one example might be the media’s contemporary role in evangelism and homosexuality legislation). Articles may address any aspect of media and globalization, including discourses, practices and structures of: journalism; popular culture (film, television, music, celebrity philanthropy, tourism promotion, beauty pageants, etc.); information and communication technologies (ICTs); foreign aid; and/or infrastructure investment, particularly in telecommunications.

Theoretical and methodological approaches may vary consistent with the guidelines of the journal as long as they contribute to our knowledge and conceptual understanding of media and globalization and relate directly to Africa.

Authors should email an abstract (500 words) to Leslie Steeves by August 15, 2014. The editor and consulting editors will review all submissions and successful authors will be invited to submit a full manuscript. Abstracts and manuscripts must be in English. Authors of selected abstracts will be notified of acceptance by October 15, 2014. Full papers will be subject to anonymous peer review, and full papers are due by February 15, 2015.