[Commlist] New Book: Mapping the Digital Divide in Africa. A Mediated Analysis.

Bruce Mustvairo and Massimo Ragnedda, /Mapping the Digital Divide in 
Africa. A Mediated Analysis. /Amsterdam University Press 
https://www.aup.nl/en/book/9789462986855/mapping-the-digital-divide-in-africa 


*Description*

**

Despite issues associated with the digital divide, mobile telephony is 
growing on the continent and the rise of smartphones has given citizens 
easy access to social networking sites. But the digital divide, which 
mostly reflects on one's race, gender, socioeconomic status or 
geographical location, stands in the way of digital progress.

What opportunities are available to tame digital disparities? How are 
different societies in Africa handling digital problems? What innovative 
methods are being used to provide citizens with access to critical 
information that can help improve their lives? Experiences from various 
locations in several sub-Saharan African countries have been carefully 
selected in this collection with the aim of providing an updated account 
on the digital divide and its impact in Africa.

*Reviews*

"For many years ‘the digital divide’ has been a catchphrase, often with 
little analytical content. This book provides studies of how the concept 
can be understood within an African context. The different contributions 
address problems related to digital opportunities as well as inhibitions 
to growth; thus, it has implications for how to comprehend 
technological, political, economic, social, and cultural development in 
a wider world. Of particular importance is that the book provides a 
theoretical understanding as well as an account of the impact of 
different technologies such as mobile phones." - *Helge Rønning, 
Professor*, Department of Media and Communications, University of Oslo, 
Norway

"You need to take a different perspective of both the digital divide and 
Africa to understand the complexity of social and digital inequality in 
Africa. The digital divide is different in every part of the world. 
Reading this book you will grasp the complexity of the social, cultural 
and political affairs of Africa that are reinforcing the digital divide. 
Surprisingly, while mobile telephony is booming here, ICTs are in fact 
only reinforcing existing social inequality." - *Jan A.G.M. van Dijk, 
Professor*, Department of Communication, University of Twente, the 
Netherlands

"This is a timely and much-needed collection that fills an important gap 
in the literature. It offers excellent conceptual tools and a selection 
of case studies that provide a useful map of the digital divide across 
the African continent and between Africa and the rest of the world. I 
especially appreciate the editors’ efforts to address African issues on 
their own terms and to problematize interpretive paradigms from the 
global north. It is a book that many will look forward to reading. I 
will recommend it to my students." - *Pier Paolo Frassinelli, 
Professor,* School of Communication, University of Johannesburg, South 
Africa


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