[Commlist] Call for Chapter Proposals: Decolonising Communication for Development and Social Change Research: Intercultural Perspectives from the Global South

*CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTER PROPOSALS 2024*

Provisional book title: *Decolonising Communication for Development and 
Social Change Research: Intercultural Perspectives from the Global South *

*NB: We do not charge APC for submissions to this call.*

*Editors: *Dr. Tshepang Bright Molale (Wits), Prof. Fulufhelo Oscar 
Makananise (Unisa), Dr. Edgar Julius Malatji (UL) and Dr. Shumani Eric 
Madima (Univen)

*Targeted Publishers:*Palgrave MacMillan/Routledge

*Preamble *

This edited volume addresses a pressing need in current discourse by 
focusing on decolonising communication for social change and development 
from intercultural perspectives in the Global South. It underscores the 
urgency to dismantle entrenched power structures and redefine 
communication paradigms, particularly in social change efforts. The 
initiative challenges dominant narratives that perpetuate inequalities 
across the Global South, advocating for a departure from colonial 
legacies in higher education communication methodologies and 
epistemologies. It calls for the centering of marginalised voices, 
validation of diverse knowledge, and cultivation of intercultural 
dialogues. Within the context of social justice, development, and higher 
education, decolonising communication for social change emerges as an 
imperative mandate to address colonial hierarchies and foster 
inclusivity. Despite purported commitments to diversity and inclusion, 
many academic and research institutions continue to perpetuate colonial 
hierarchies, marginalising non-Western epistemologies and relegating 
them to the periphery of scholarly discourse (see Li, & Weresa, 2022).  
This exclusionary framework not only undermines the integrity of 
academic inquiry but also perpetuates systemic injustices by failing to 
address the complex intersections of power, culture, and communication. 
However, this volume seeks to rectify this deficiency, offering a 
nuanced understanding of communication as a site of struggle, 
resistance, and transformation through foregrounding intercultural 
perspectives from the Global South. It will provide the Global South 
scholars and researchers with an opportunity to (re)think, and 
(re)evaluate possible ways to decolonise communication for social change 
and development as well as transcultural communication theories, 
practices, and pedagogies.

Notwithstanding, there has been a recent effort as part of a “new 
momentum” of research that stems from the Global South, notably in 
Africa (see Tufte, 2024), as a way of challenging current research 
trajectories and patterns of knowledge exclusion that is mostly come 
from the Global North and West. Although there is a nascent but growing 
corpus of knowledge on Communication for Development and Social Change, 
there is, however, a paucity or gap in the literature that is 
exclusively devoted to addressing epistemic injustice, entrenched 
colonial legacies, and the need to rethink research practices by 
infusing epistemologies from the Global South that are inherently 
intercultural and inclusive- focusing on agency and empowerment of the 
marginalised or subaltern voices (see Sonderling, 2014; Ferri, 2022). As 
Dutta (2015) asserted the role of communication in social change is 
portrayed as a linear conduit for inducing pro-development behaviour 
change in the “undeveloped” world. These new forms of social change 
communication, scripted in the narratives of local empowerment, 
community-based participation, and entrepreneurship, work to 
systematically erase subaltern communities. The proposal identifies a 
research gap in the existing scholarship, emphasising the need to 
foreground the Global South perspectives and interrogate power dynamics 
in communicative practices for social change, intercultural 
communication, and development. Over and above recent contributions like 
books on indigenous Language for Development and Social Change 
Communication in the Global South (See Salawu, Molale, Uribe-Jongbloed, 
& Ullah, 2023a & 2023b), for instance, this proposed book aims to 
amplify voices from the Global South by providing a platform for 
scholars and practitioners to share their insights, experiences, and 
strategies for decolonising communication for social change and 
development; critically examines existing frameworks, and methodologies, 
and catalyse broader conversations advocating for a more inclusive and 
equitable approach to communication for social change in the Global 
South. Overall, it represents a bold intervention urging collective 
action to confront colonial legacies and envision alternative futures 
rooted in justice, equity, and solidarity. Interested authors, from 
across the Global South and in the diaspora, are invited to submit an 
abstract of 300-350 words and a short biography for each author of not 
more than 100 words. Their works can be related, but not limited, to the 
following themes:

*Themes:*

*Decolonising Higher Education Methodologies and Epistemologies in 
Communication for Development and Social Change*

·Decolonisation of communication for development and social change 
practices in higher education.

·Critical pedagogies and theoretical foundations for decolonising 
communication for development and social change from the Global South

·The impact of digital technologies on decolonising communication for 
development and social change in higher education

·Innovative pedagogical approaches to decolonising communication for 
development and social change

·Decolonising pedagogical approaches in health and intercultural 
communications

·Emerging decolonial trends in health and intercultural communications 
 across the Global South

·Collective action, citizen participation, and resistance of colonial 
pedagogies in communication for development and social change

·Conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and emerging empirical trends 
in decolonial communication for social change studies

*Emerging Global South Research Trends in Communication for Development 
and Social Change *

·Emerging research trends in social movements, digital participation, 
and ‘Glocal’ Villages

·Emerging research trends around digital literacy, and behaviour change 
from the Global South

·Case studies around protests, civil disobedience, and unrest/resistance 
for social change in the Global South

·Indigenous/Minority languages and community media as platforms for 
development and social change communication

·Intercultural and indigenous communications for social change from the 
Global South

*Submission Details *

The abstract should succinctly state the aim of the study, the 
theoretical/conceptual framework, and the methodological approaches 
used. They should consist of 300-350 words and a short biography for 
each author of not more than 100 words. All submissions should be 
forwarded to (devcoms123 /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(devcoms123 /at/ gmail.com)>  and cc 
to (omakananise5 /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(omakananise5 /at/ gmail.com)>

*Important Dates:*

vDeadline for abstract submission: 12 April 2024

vNotification of abstract acceptance or rejection: 26 April 2024

vSubmission of full chapters: 31 August 2024

vReviewer’s feedback to authors: 11 October 2024

vSubmission of revised manuscripts: 08 November 2024

vExpected date of publication: March/April 2025

**

*Reference list*

**

**

Dutta, M.J. 2015. Decolonising Communication for Social Change: A 
culture-Centred Approach, /Communication Theory/, 25(2), 123-143.

Ferri, G. (2022) The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s 
house: decolonising intercultural communication. /Language, and 
Intercultural Communication,/ 22(3), 381-390.

Li, H. & Wekesa, B. (2022). Beyond De-Westernization: Transcultural 
Communication Studies Perspectives From the Global South-An 
Introduction. /Journal of Transcultural Communication,/ 2(2), 123-128.

Salawu, A., Molale, T.B., Uribe-Jongbloed, E., & Ullah, M.S. eds. 2023. 
Indigenous Language for Development Communication in the Global South.  
Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.

Salawu, A., Molale, T.B., Uribe-Jongbloed, E., & Ullah, M.S. eds. 2023. 
Indigenous Language for Social Change Communication in the Global 
South.  Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group.

Sonderling, S. 2014. Fanon’s Perspective on Intercultural Communication 
in Postcolonial South Africa. /Communitas,/ 19(1),42-59.

Tufte, T. 2024. A New Momentum in African Scholarship on Communication 
for Development and Social Change. In Mmutle, T., Molale, TB., Selebi, 
O., & Akinola O. /Eds. /Strategic Communication Management for 
Development and Social Change: Perspectives from the African Region. 
Palgrave MacMillan.


---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------