[ecrea] cfp: Special issue on Africa, Media and Globalization

Call for Abstracts -  ICA Journal 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 
(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1753-9137/homepage/ForAuthors.html) 
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 
((lsteeves /at/ uoregon.edu), (lesliesteeves /at/ gmail.com)) 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.


--

Mohamed El Marzouki
PhD Student/Editorial Assistant
Communication, Culture and Critique
School of Journalism, Indiana University
Bloomington 47405, USA
(melmarzo /at/ indiana.edu)

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