[Commlist] CFP: Special Issue- Visual Political Communication in Africa’s Digital Sphere

CFP: Special Issue- Visual Political Communication in Africa’s Digital 
Sphere.

Journal of Visual Political Communication

/Guest Editors: Lungile Tshuma and Mphathisi Ndlovu/

//

The importance of visuals in communication is never in doubt. Our 
contemporary world is largely mediated by visuals. Given the 
proliferation of visuals as a medium of communication, societies are 
increasingly creating “image junkies” which has led to “the most 
irresistible form of mental pollution” (Sontag 2003, 24). While Sontag 
raised such arguments two decades ago, technological developments and 
the coming in of different social media platforms has further enhanced 
the use of different forms of visuals in communication. Such an 
observation led to Schill (2012, 120) to call for an “urgent need for 
more research, both theoretical and applied, that examines the functions 
of visual symbols in political contexts”.  While there is a growing 
scholarly interest in the intersection of visuals and political 
communication (Lilleker and Veneti 2023; Veneti et al. 2019), this 
research field has remained “one of the least studied and least 
understood areas” (Schill 2012, 119). Unfortunately, most of this 
interest is coming from the Global North unlike in the Global South 
where the state and art of political communication is yet to fully 
develop. For example, many politicians in the Global South, in 
particular Africa, are yet to have enough budgets to hire political 
campaign strategists to handle their political campaigns.

Despite this being the case, scholars in Africa have argued that 
political communication is not universal, and called for the move 
towards African political communication (Omotoso & Faniyi 2017). African 
political communication is explained as being “grounded on philosophy 
and worldview which prioritizes African histories, cultures and values” 
(Omotoso & Faniyi 2017, 1; Omotoso 2013). Raising similar arguments, 
Eweka et al. (2017) note that western concepts cannot be used to make 
sense of African political communication. Karam and Mutsvairo (2022) 
called for the decolonisation of political communication.  In this 
realm, the aim has been to ensure that political communication research 
goes against the “epistemicides” that have been “committed on 
non-Western ways of knowing as they are denied the status of 
universality by the totalising Western way of knowing” (Ndlovu-Gatsheni 
2014, 88).

Contemporary political communication is largely played in the digital 
space. Our interest is in online visuals as “other forms of political 
communication” outside the mainstream media (Wasserman 2019, 433). 
Social media platforms have been central in communicating, and managing 
political power. The importance of visuals in these social media 
platforms can, arguably, be seen in the manner in which politicians, for 
example, have used them to share their political rallies, and meetings. 
Instagram, Tik Tok have emerged as the most significant visual platforms 
in political communication. In Africa, where political players mainly 
rely on traditional means like the use of legacy media, are slowly 
making their presence seen and felt in some of these platforms. While we 
solicit for papers that focus on visual political communication in the 
digital era, we are aware of the use of generative AI which has 
disrupted the field of visual political communication. Thus, an 
engagement on such disruptions is timely and needed. More so, we are 
mindful of the challenge that came with the influence of algorithms in 
this digital age which has led to decolonial scholars to caution 
researchers to be “the reproduction of colonial power structures in 
algorithmic practises” (Couldry & Mejias (2021, 5).  Against this 
background, this call solicits for papers that engage theoretical and 
methodological with the field of visual political communication in the 
digital era in Africa.

The special issue aims to bring together innovative, thought-provoking 
contributions, from different fields, national and regional contexts, 
exploring a range of topics, including:

·Gender and visual political communication

·African political communication and visuals

·Disinformation, misinformation, and visual political communication

·The use/abuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Visual Political 
Communication in Africa’s Digital Sphere.

·Audience research on visual political communication, and digital spaces

·Methodological considerations in researching visuals

·Theoretical and conceptual concepts of studying Visual Political 
Communication in Africa/ African Visual Political Communication

·Decoloniality and Visual Political Communication in Africa’s Digital 
Sphere.

·Ethical issues in Visual Political Communication in Africa’s

·Citizenship, activism, social movements, and visual political communication

·Satire/humour, and the use of visuals in political communication

·Political campaigns, electoral campaigns and the use of Visual 
Political Communication

**

*Submission Guidelines*

Deadline submission of extended abstracts (max 500 words and a brief 
author bio max 100 words): should be sent no later than *December 20*, 
2024 to (tshumalungile /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(tshumalungile /at/ gmail.com)> and 
copy (mphathisindlovu /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(mphathisindlovu /at/ gmail.com)>

Decision on abstracts: *January 31, 2025*

Full manuscript submission deadline: *June 30, 2025.*

Publication Date: *October/November 2025*

*
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*NB: *No APC is applied to the Journal of Visual Political Communication.


/About Guest Editors/

*Tshuma Lungile* is a researcher in the Centre for Communication and 
Culture, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal. Senior Research 
Associate, University of Johannesburg. He holds a Ph.D. in journalism 
studies from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. Lungile’s 
research interests are in visual culture, memory, and journalism.

*Mphathisi Ndlovu* is a Professor in the Department of Journalism and 
Media Studies at the National University of Science and Technology in 
Zimbabwe. He is also a research fellow in the Department of Journalism 
at Stellenbosch University, where he received his PhD in Journalism. 
Mphathisi’s research areas are in memory, digital cultures, nationalism, 
media theory, and journalism practice.
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