De Gruyter Handbook of Media and Social Change in the Global South
Berlin: De Gruyter (2026), 600 pp.
Contains index
Series: De Gruyter Contemporary Social Sciences Handbooks
ISBN 978-3-11-143911-2 (ebook); 978-3-11-143880-1 (hbk)
"The birth of the newspapers, radio and television in the 19th century brought various interconnected social, behavioral and cultural changes in the lives of the colonizer and the colonized in the economically ‘developing’ nations. Then in the 20th century and now the 21st century, the birth of digital media for political, social, cultural, and economic communications have witnessed divergent results in the West and the non-Western countries. The Global South is currently facing digital divides and issues related to media illiteracy that tend to impact people’s lives more than those in the North. Furthermore, a significant shift in online and offline communicative behavior has had various effects in the way the young and the old, male and female, the haves and the have-nots interact in the media space. This handbook brings together a multidisciplinary group of authors from the Global South and the diaspora to document, examine, expose and critically assess the nature, role and impact of the social changes brought by the emergence of the mediated forms of communication in the Global South." (Publisher description)
SECTION I: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND DIGITALIZATION
1 Towards AI-Enabled Media Technology with African-Driven Indigenous Ubuntu Ethics and Principles / Wakanyi Hoffman, 5
2 Africa’s Digital Space in the Global South: Engaging African Communities to Apply Digital Communication for Sustainable Socio-Economic Gains / Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi, 31
3 Leveraging Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Tourism in the Caribbean: Strategies Amid Natural Disasters / Roger Caruth, 49
SECTION II: DIGITAL INEQUALITIES
4 The Chasm Widens—Digital and AI Divides in the Global South / Massimo Ragnedda, Maria Laura Ruiu, 71
5 Digital and traditional media on a collision course for social change in the East African regions of Africa / Hellen Maleche and Kehbuma Langmia, 87
6 Re-Introducing the Kalinago in the Digital Age / Zamani Thomas, 115
7 Gender and Sexuality in Africa: Unpacking Mediatized Debates on ‘UnAfricanness’ of Same-Sex Relationships in Ghana / Audrey S. Gadzekpo, Ivy Mingyase Fofie and Elikem Gadzekpo, 147
SECTION III: MEDIA AND POLITICS
8 Harnessing Social Media for Social, Economic, Political, and Technical Development in the Global South / Daniel O. Awodiya, 171
9 The Hinted Social Activism on Social Media in China / Wei Sun, Tracy Chung, 205
10 X-Space (Twitter) and Emergence of New Political Constituencies among New Age Social Media Users in East Africa / Olive Chepkorir Metet, 225
11 Visual Narratives, Activism, and Social Change: A Case Study of the ‘Occupy Julorbi House Protest’ in Ghana / Nana Kwame Osei Fordjour, 245
12 The Historical Evolution and Contemporary Promises of Public Service Media in Jamaica / Nickesia S. Gordon, Kerrith Watts, 265
13 South-to-South Media Activism and Artivism: Interconnecting Stories and Struggles / Andrea Medrado, Isabella Rega, 285
14 Towards a Conceptualization of Social Containment: Social Media, Social Justice, and the Infrastructures of Communicative Disenfranchisement in Nigeria / Tomide Oloruntobi, 311
15 Development as a Dilemma: Media and Modernization in Pseudo-Democracies / Jean Claude Kwitonda, 335
16 Media and Participatory Democracy in sub-Saharan Africa: Philosophies, Policies and Practices / Bala A. Musa, 347
17 Kenyan Media and Marginalized Voices: President William Ruto’s Rhetoric and Kenya’s 2024 Anti-Tax Protests / Millicent Akinyi Oyier and Kehbuma Langmia, 361
SECTION IV: MEDIA, GENDER AND RACE
18 Social Media, Digital Visibility and Electoral Campaigns in the Global South: The Need for a Gendered Approach / Rituparna Banerjee, Saumava Mitra, 383
19 Colorism and Media in the Global South: Exploring the Issue of Race and Ethnicity in South American Countries / Juliana Maria da Silva Trammel, 401
20 Making Waves in the Global South: Media Literacy and Womenganization / Rita Daniels, 417
SECTION V: MEDIA AND DECOLONIZATION
21 Decolonial Journalistic Field Theory: A Toolkit for Unpacking Colonial and Decolonial Practices in Journalism / Omega Douglas, 433
22 Afrokology of Media and Communication Studies / Winston Mano and Viola C. Milton, 463
SECTION VI: MEDIA AND CITIZENS’ PARTICIPATION
23 Advertising and Media in Kenya / Joseph Nyanoti, 491
24 Effecting Positive Social Change via Constructive Journalism in Three East African Countries / Joy Kibarabara, 511
25 WhatsApp as the New Village Square in the Context of Socio-Strategic Communication Dynamics of ‘Community’ Associations: Investigating Engagement, Control and Dialogue / Emmanuel Ezimako Nzeaka, 525
1 Towards AI-Enabled Media Technology with African-Driven Indigenous Ubuntu Ethics and Principles / Wakanyi Hoffman, 5
2 Africa’s Digital Space in the Global South: Engaging African Communities to Apply Digital Communication for Sustainable Socio-Economic Gains / Emmanuel K. Ngwainmbi, 31
3 Leveraging Emerging Technologies for Sustainable Tourism in the Caribbean: Strategies Amid Natural Disasters / Roger Caruth, 49
SECTION II: DIGITAL INEQUALITIES
4 The Chasm Widens—Digital and AI Divides in the Global South / Massimo Ragnedda, Maria Laura Ruiu, 71
5 Digital and traditional media on a collision course for social change in the East African regions of Africa / Hellen Maleche and Kehbuma Langmia, 87
6 Re-Introducing the Kalinago in the Digital Age / Zamani Thomas, 115
7 Gender and Sexuality in Africa: Unpacking Mediatized Debates on ‘UnAfricanness’ of Same-Sex Relationships in Ghana / Audrey S. Gadzekpo, Ivy Mingyase Fofie and Elikem Gadzekpo, 147
SECTION III: MEDIA AND POLITICS
8 Harnessing Social Media for Social, Economic, Political, and Technical Development in the Global South / Daniel O. Awodiya, 171
9 The Hinted Social Activism on Social Media in China / Wei Sun, Tracy Chung, 205
10 X-Space (Twitter) and Emergence of New Political Constituencies among New Age Social Media Users in East Africa / Olive Chepkorir Metet, 225
11 Visual Narratives, Activism, and Social Change: A Case Study of the ‘Occupy Julorbi House Protest’ in Ghana / Nana Kwame Osei Fordjour, 245
12 The Historical Evolution and Contemporary Promises of Public Service Media in Jamaica / Nickesia S. Gordon, Kerrith Watts, 265
13 South-to-South Media Activism and Artivism: Interconnecting Stories and Struggles / Andrea Medrado, Isabella Rega, 285
14 Towards a Conceptualization of Social Containment: Social Media, Social Justice, and the Infrastructures of Communicative Disenfranchisement in Nigeria / Tomide Oloruntobi, 311
15 Development as a Dilemma: Media and Modernization in Pseudo-Democracies / Jean Claude Kwitonda, 335
16 Media and Participatory Democracy in sub-Saharan Africa: Philosophies, Policies and Practices / Bala A. Musa, 347
17 Kenyan Media and Marginalized Voices: President William Ruto’s Rhetoric and Kenya’s 2024 Anti-Tax Protests / Millicent Akinyi Oyier and Kehbuma Langmia, 361
SECTION IV: MEDIA, GENDER AND RACE
18 Social Media, Digital Visibility and Electoral Campaigns in the Global South: The Need for a Gendered Approach / Rituparna Banerjee, Saumava Mitra, 383
19 Colorism and Media in the Global South: Exploring the Issue of Race and Ethnicity in South American Countries / Juliana Maria da Silva Trammel, 401
20 Making Waves in the Global South: Media Literacy and Womenganization / Rita Daniels, 417
SECTION V: MEDIA AND DECOLONIZATION
21 Decolonial Journalistic Field Theory: A Toolkit for Unpacking Colonial and Decolonial Practices in Journalism / Omega Douglas, 433
22 Afrokology of Media and Communication Studies / Winston Mano and Viola C. Milton, 463
SECTION VI: MEDIA AND CITIZENS’ PARTICIPATION
23 Advertising and Media in Kenya / Joseph Nyanoti, 491
24 Effecting Positive Social Change via Constructive Journalism in Three East African Countries / Joy Kibarabara, 511
25 WhatsApp as the New Village Square in the Context of Socio-Strategic Communication Dynamics of ‘Community’ Associations: Investigating Engagement, Control and Dialogue / Emmanuel Ezimako Nzeaka, 525
