[ecrea] CFP for a Book of Readings - A Reminder

*CALL FOR PAPERS*
*A Book of Readings*
*Indigenous language media, language politics and democracy in Africa *
*Editors: /Abiodun Salawu Monica B. Chibita/*
/ Department of Communication Department of Mass Communication/
/University of Fort Hare, South Africa Ugandan Christian University, Uganda/
/ (salawuabiodun /at/ gmail.com) (mbchibita /at/ gmail.com)/
/ /
The proposed book seeks to place indigenous language media in Africa in 
a particular socio- historical context with a view to highlighting their 
role in enhancing the participation of Africans in the political process 
in their local environs. Language plays a crucial role in the media as a 
key public domain. Languages that people use in the media determine the 
extent to which they can make themselves heard. The attitudes towards 
the indigenous languages and what roles they are assigned in the public 
domain, therefore, are important issues in discussions of democracy. 
However, beyond seeing African peoples as victims of language hegemony, 
both at micro and macro levels, the book will be much interested in 
considering the human agency in the choice and use of language in the 
media. The point here is that people can actually be protagonists of 
cultural assertiveness through the promotion of their local languages in 
ways that are innovative. In other words, the proposed book is 
interested in experimentations with culturally and linguistically 
innovative media forms which lend themselves to a more democratically 
engaged journalistic practice. Significantly, the book proposes to have 
chapters that demonstrate (1.) an understanding of the political 
contributions of the indigenous language media in colonial and 
post-colonial African contexts; (2.) the (un)shaping of local language 
media in different linguistic configurations and language policies (3.) 
how local language media facilitate people’s participation in public 
domain; (4.) the innovative praxis of individuals, communities and 
organisations in promoting local languages through, not just the 
traditional mass media, but more particularly the new media platforms 
and social media and using the same for socio-political engineering; 
(5.) the historicisation of the local language media in African 
contexts; and (6.) the appropriation of indigenous languages for 
commercial purposes by the modern media and the impact of this on the 
democratising role of the indigenous languages. Submissions are expected 
to come from theoretical positions such as, but not limited to, critical 
political economy, cultural studies, language ideologies and the public 
sphere.
*Important dates:*
February 28, 2013 – Deadline for submission of papers
April 30, 2013 – Communication of decisions on papers
July 31, 2013 – Submission of revised papers
December 2013 – Envisaged date of publication
Papers in word format should be sent to (salawuabiodun /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(salawuabiodun /at/ gmail.com)> and (mbchibita /at/ gmail.com)
Professor Abiodun Salawu
Department of Communication
University of Fort Hare,
Private Bag X1314,
King William's Town Road,
Alice 5700, Eastern Cape,
SOUTH AFRICA.
E-mail: (asalawu /at/ ufh.ac.za)
Office Tel. No.: +27 (0)40 602 2380
I-Fax No.:       +27 (0)86 623 8416