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The Handbook on Religion and Communication
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Yoel Cohen, Paul A. Soukup (eds.)

Newark: Wiley Blackwell (2023), 571 pp.

"Divided into five parts, the Handbook opens with a state-of-the-art overview of the subject’s intellectual landscape, introducing the historical background, theoretical foundations, and major academic approaches to communication, media, and religion. Subsequent sections focus on institutional and ... more

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God Talk: The Problem of Divine-Human Communication

Mark Ward (ed.)

New York; Berlin: Peter Lang (2022), xxii, 192 pp.

"The collection of critiques advances a powerful question that must be asked if we are to gain a broader and deeper understanding of humanity. The phenomenon of Divine-human communication (DHC) is framed as an area of scholarship replete with heurism, not limiting itself to Judeo-Christian belief sy ... more

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The Routledge Handbook of Gender and Communication

Marnel Niles Goins, Bryant Keith Alexander, Joan Faber McAlister (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2021), xxvi, 686 pp.

"Comprising 39 chapters by a team of international contributors, the Handbook is divided into six general themes: Gendered identities; Visualizing gender; The politics of gender; Gendered contexts and strategies; Gendered violence and communication; Gendered advocacy in action These sections examine ... more

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Media Literacy in a Disruptive Media Environment

William G. Christie, Belinha S. De Abreu (eds.)

New York: Routledge (2020), 338 pp.

"This book, part of the BEA Electronic Media Research Series, brings together top scholars researching media literacy and lays out the current state of the field in areas such as propaganda, news, participatory culture, representation, education, social/environmental justice, and civic engagement. T ... more

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Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change
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Jan Servaes (ed.)

Singapore: Springer (2020), 2 vols.

"The book contains 85 chapters written by persons who have been on those frontlines of communication and development [...] A variety of case studies appear in the book. For example, Kriss Barker and Fatou Jah – in a chapter titled “Entertainment-Education in Radio: Three Case Studies from Africa ... ” – explore in detail projects in Nigeria, Burundi and Burkina Faso that used a communication intervention approach advanced by the Population Media Center. Other chapters in the Handbook take the reader to Spain, Kenya, South Africa, Kazakhstan, and beyond. Song Shi examines “ICTs and Modernization in China,” revealing that assumptions and theories of the modernization paradigm have significantly influenced the policies and projects on ICT4D in contemporary China. And, Song Shi writes, discussion on the potential of other approaches in ICT4D in China has also emerged among scholars. Hina Ayaz discusses the “Multiplicity Approach in Participatory Communication” in Pakistan – wherein the country adopted the Global Polio Eradication Initiative – only to run into negative perceptions and banning of polio vaccinations. However, a shift to a more successful approach, grounded in UNICEF’s social mobilization and communityinvolvement communication strategy, brought significant success. While many of the Handbook case studies incorporate participation as a significant development factor, they also address a wide range of social and political issues including, for example, civic engagement, sexual harassment, empowerment, and community voices. In addition to an abundance of case studies from around the world, the Handbook delves into various research methods that are being used to understand and design communication for development and social change interventions [...] Handbook editor Jan Servaes' own chapter (with Rico Lie), “Key Concepts, Disciplines, and Fields in Communication for Development and Social Change ” identifies five clusters of concepts and practices that are evident in the field today and which determine the activities and approaches in communication for sustainable development and social change interventions: The clusters are (1) a normative cluster of concepts; (2) a cluster of concepts that sets an important context for communication activities for development; (3) a cluster of strategic and methodological concepts; (4) a cluster of concepts that relate to methods, techniques, and tools; and (5) a cluster of concepts that addresses the practices of advocacy, (participatory) monitoring and evaluation, and impact assessment. The authors extend their discussion into three subdivisions: (1) health communication, (2) agricultural extension and rural communication, and (3) environmental communication (including climate change communication). This leads the reader into issues related to (1) right to communicate; (2) education and learning; (3) innovation, science, and technology; (4) natural resource management; (5) food security; (6) poverty reduction; (7) peace and conflict; (8) children and youth, women, and senior citizens; and (9) tourism. Some of the forerunners of development communication have not been forgotten. In “Daniel Lerner and the Origins of Development Communication”, Hemant Shah links Lerner’s 1958 book Passing of Traditional Society to today’s modernization and faith in technology to solve social problems. Also contributing to the foundation of this field is Paulo Freire who contributed much to idea that participation should be a vital part of the development dialogue. Ana Fernández-Aballí Altamirano’s chapter on "The Importance of Paulo Freire to Communication for Development and Social Change" highlights his main work Pedagogy of the Oppressed as a "before-and-after" in the fields of education, research, and communication, initially in Latin America and later in both North and South. Particularly in the case of development communication and communication for social change, the author stresses, Freire’s work had a definitive impact ..." (Review by Royal Donald Colle, Journal of Development Communication, vol. 30 (2), page 92-94) more

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The Book: A Global History

Michael F. Suarez, H. R. Woudhuysen (eds.)

Oxford: Oxford University Press (2013), xx, 748 pp.

"A concise edition of the highly acclaimed Oxford Companion to the Book, this book features the 51 articles from the Companion plus 3 brand new chapters in one affordable volume. The 54 chapters introduce readers to the fascinating world of book history. Including 21 thematic studies on topics such ... more

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Digital Media, Youth, and Credibility

Miriam J. Metzger, Andrew J. Flanagin (eds.)

Cambridge: MIT Press (2008), ix, 202 pp.

"This volume addresses the issue of credibility—the objective and subjective components that make information believable—in the contemporary media environment. The contributors look particularly at youth audiences and experiences, considering the implications of wide access and the questionable ... more

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There's room for improvement in the Indian Press

J. Harris

IPI Report (Zürich), volume 12, issue 4 (1963), p. 17

"An enquiry covering 30 Indian newspaper publishers has revealed the main problems: shortage of paper and of staff, supply difficulties — many publishers are poor organisers." (Jean-Marie Van Bol, Abdelfattah Fakhfakh: The use of mass media in the developing countries. Brussels: CIDESA, 1971 Nr. 9 ... more

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La presse d'Asie lutte pour son progrès

J. P. Harris

Cahiers de l'I.I.P. (Zürich), volume 10, issue 9 (1962), p. 3

"Les difficultés de la presse dans le Pakistan de l'Ouest, la Malaisie et Kerala, spécialement les questions techniques et d'édition." (Jean-Marie Van Bol, Abdelfattah Fakhfakh: The use of mass media in the developing countries. Brussels: CIDESA, 1971 Nr. 994, topic code 141)

The Handbook on Religion and Communication Top Insights