[ecrea] cfp - Deconstructing Images of the Global South through Media Representations and Communication

*Call for Chapters: /Deconstructing Images of the Global South through 
Media Representations and Communication/*

*Edited by: Floribert Patrick C. Endong*

*Publisher: IGI Global*

**

*Introduction*

Human conditions have over the years, phenomenally improved in all parts 
of the globe including in less developed countries. As noted by authors 
such as Easterlin (2000), Green (2012), Rodrik (2013). the UNO (2017) 
and OECD (2018), this remarkable revolution in human conditions – 
manifested by the fact that most people are better clothed, educated, 
fed and housed compared to their predecessors two centuries back – has 
so far not only touched the west. In effect, it has remarkably spread to 
less developed countries in Africa, South America and Asia as seen in 
the fact that the three above cited continents are today home to some 
emerging economies notably China, India and Brazil among others. In 
tandem with this, Rodrik (2013) insightfully notes that the tremendous 
growth witnessed by less developed nations during these last decades has 
made it commonplace for observers to refer to them (the developing 
countries) as the “savior of the world economy” (p.2). Rodrik further 
contends that, from 2005 to 2012, less developed countries actually saw 
their economies expanding at an unprecedented rate, leading to large 
reduction of extreme poverty and expansion of the middle class. During 
this period, the differential between the growth rate of developing and 
developed countries expanded to more than 5 percentage points due partly 
to a decline in the economic performance of most developed countries. In 
the same line of thought, Green (2012) reviews the economic successes of 
less developed African countries such as Botswana and Mauritius. He 
notes that Botswana has been Africa’s most enduring success story. Its 
per capita income has phenomenally risen a thousand fold since 
independence, making it “the world’s fastest-growing economy in three 
decades” (p. 159).

If scores of economists (notably the ones cited above) have underscored 
and predicted levels of economic growth in various developing and 
under-developed countries, only few critics have devoted serious 
attention to international media representations of this growth. Thus, a 
myriad of questions pertaining to local and international media’s 
attention to economic growth in developing and poor countries continues 
to beg for attention. Some of these questions include: how have economic 
dynamics in poor and developing countries been reported by the global 
media? Has the purported economic growth witnessed in these countries 
affected international media coverage of the global south?Has such an 
economic growth been “adequately” represented in the media coverage of 
poor and developing countries? Have the western media (particularly the 
ones based in developed countries) continued to represent developing and 
poor countries along negative stereotypes? Are there any concrete 
evidence of change in the way the international media treat news events 
occurring in poor and developing countries? Are media houses (in Africa, 
Asia or South America) really making efforts to counter or deconstruct 
western media representations of the global south? How can one compare 
western and non-western media representations of the global south?

There is no need to overlook the fact that a number of media scholars 
has attempted to answer some of the above mentioned questions. However, 
there continues to be a lack of consensus as to whether local and 
foreign media have shaped their representations of the global south 
according to, or with sufficient consideration of this economic growth. 
A good number of scholars from developing and poor countries continue to 
be of the persuasion that, in spite of the various indexes of growth and 
improved human conditions in the less developed world, the global media 
(particularly western media) have arguably persisted in the old age 
tradition of representing under-developed and poor countries dominantly 
in a negative light (Adichie, 2009; Bunce, Franks & Peterson, 2016; 
Iqani, 2016; Lugo-Ocando, 2015; Nworah 2006). Such critics claim that 
the economic successes of less developed countries are mostly overlooked 
by foreign media houses in favor of multiple negativities plaguing their 
countries. Only the negative news about Africa, South East Asia, the 
Middle East and South America actually seems to attract the attention of 
the foreign media. One thus has the impression that the less developed 
world continues to be dominantly portrayed in foreign media as places 
plagued by political instability, backwardness/primitivism, tribal 
anarchy, corruption, bad governance, civil wars, deadly pandemics, 
hunger and droughts and extreme poverty among others (Nworah, 2006).

Although popular in countries of the global south, the above mentioned 
position or narrative has largely remained a myth and/or a veritable 
food for thought. There is still a need to research foreign media 
portrayals of the less developed world to confidently ascertain the 
veracity of such a myth. This book aims at examining the extent to which 
this belief holds waters.

*Objectives*

This book is aimed at providing different perspectives on global media’s 
representation of (development and economic growth in) developing and 
poor countries. These perspectives may be historical, religious, 
socio-cultural and political among others. The book equally seeks to 
explore such representations in diverse media notably cinema, 
television, games, magazines, comics, photojournalism, advertising and 
online platforms among others.

*Target Audience*

The target audience of this book will consist of students, scholars, 
media practitioners, policy makers, international relation experts, 
politicians and other professionals in representation research.

*Recommended Topics*

·Global media coverage of poverty, war, natural catastrophe and 
elections in the global south

·Aid organizations, media and the global south

·Portrayal of African, Asian or South American politicians in the 
western media

·Fake news and the representation of poor countries in the global media

·Western media representation of democratization in the global south

·International politics, diplomacy and media representations of the 
global south

·Covering poverty and epidemics as a way of shaming under developed 
countries

·Western media representation of primitivism in poor countries

·Pan-Africanism and African media representation of African countries

·Cultural affirmation and the deconstruction of negative image of the 
global south

·Representation of emerging economies in the western media

·American capitalism /vs/ African communalism western media

·Western /vs/ non-western media representation of the global south (case 
studies are encouraged here)

·Audiences perceptions of media representations of poor and developing 
countries

·Representation of the global south on online platforms and advertising

*Submission Procedure*

Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before 
February 14, 2019, a chapter proposal of 1,000 to 2,000 words clearly 
explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. 
Authors will be notified by February 29, 2019 about the status of their 
proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be 
submitted by May 15, 2019, and all interested authors must consult the 
guidelines for manuscript submissions at 
http://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/ 
prior to submission. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a 
double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve 
as reviewers for this project. Note: There are no submission or 
acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication, 
Networked Business Models in the Circular Economy. All manuscripts are 
accepted based on a double-blind peer review editorial process. All 
proposals should be submitted through the eEditorial Discovery®TM online 
submission manager.

Submit your proposal online at 
https://www.igi-global.com/publish/call-for-papers/call-details/3607


*Note*: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts 
submitted to this book publication:

*Important Dates*

February 14, 2019: Proposal Submission Deadline

February 28, 2019: Notification of Acceptance

May 15, 2019: Full Chapter Submission

July 13, 2019: Review Results Returned

August 24, 2019: Final Acceptance Notification

September 7, 2019: Final Chapter Submission.

*References*

Bunce, M., Franks, S. & Peterson, C. (2016/). Africa’s media images in 
the 21^st century. From the “heart of darkness” to “Africa rising”./ New 
York: Routledge.

Easterlin, R.A. (2000). The worldwide standard of living since 1800. 
/Journal of Economic Perspectives/, 14(1), 7-26.

Green, D. (2012). /From poverty to power. How active citizens and 
effective states can change the world/. Warwickshire: Practical Action 
Publishing/Oxfam House.

Iqani M. (2016). “/Consumption, media and the global south/, New York: 
MacMillan.

Lugo-Ocando, J. (2015). /Blaming the victim: How global journalism fails 
those in poverty/. London: Pluto Press.

Nworah, U. (2006). Branding Nigeria’s cities. /Advertising News/, 2(1), 
16-31.

OECD (2018). /Economic outlook for southeast Asia, China and India: 
Fostering growth through digitization/, Paris: OECD.

Rodrik, D. (2013). /The past, present and future of economic growth/. 
London: Global Citizen Foundation.

United Nations Organization (2017). /The sustainable development goal 
report 2017/. New York: UNO

*Editor’s Contact:*

Floribert Patrick C. Endong, Department of Theatre, Film and Carnival 
Studies, University of Calabar, Nigeria.

(floribertendong /at/ yahoo.com) <mailto:(floribertendong /at/ yahoo.com)>


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