"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
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stems. Instead, the authors individually and collectively address the ideological diversity in existent DHC and the robust research that has yet to be explored in the discipline. The chapters beautifully tie together and articulate the necessity of theistic communication research, stressing the intersectional identities of theist-scholars in their study of phenomena where religious ideologies are activated. As a religious communication scholar who also identifies as a theist-scholar, I found every chapter empowering, as they encourage the field to reconsider its positionality towards an area of scholarship that attempts to 'measure the immeasurable.' God Talk debunks the broad misconception that theist-scholars are attempting to advance a religious campaign of indoctrination. Moreover, the book provides a very strong foundation upon which others can stand as they interrogate communication phenomena where one’s religious identity and relationship and communication with God/Creator/Higher Power are intertwined in theoretical yet practical ways." (Tina M. Harris, Endowed Chair of Race, Media, and Cultural Literacy, Louisiana State University)
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"This publication is a compilation of 19 articles by African researchers, academics, journalists and human and digital rights activists on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on digital rights in Africa. The articles were commissioned by the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (AfDec
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) Coalition as part of its project on “Securing human rights online in Africa through a strong and active ‘African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms’ network”. The AfDec Coalition is a pan-African initiative which promotes human rights standards and principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation on the continent, guided by the 13 principles established in the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms. At the time that the papers were commissioned, in June 2020, African states had either invoked existing policies or adopted new policies for prevention of spread, containment and treatment of the virus that had an impact on the enjoyment of digital rights. For example, most governments employed the use of contact tracing applications to track and trace citizens’ movements and put in place measures criminalising free speech when it contained false information about the pandemic. These two examples had the potential to be abused, particularly the latter, which was used to silence journalists and government critics. The pandemic also moved most citizens’ communication, education, work, trade and access to basic services from physical interactions to primilary online interactions. However, the continent is still largely made up of informal economies, has a low internet penetration rate of 28.2% (far below the global average of around 53%), and has seen an increase in reports of digital rights violations resulting from repressive cyberlaws, making the efforts to address the pandemic inadequate and inequitable. These articles offer reflective analyses on government efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of the AfDec principles, with a focus on a number of the principles including privacy and personal data protection, gender equality, freedom of expression, internet access and affordability, and the right to development and access to knowledge." (Introduction)
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"This volume brings together a range of different specialists in the arts and cultural industries, as well as international academics and public intellectuals, to explore how media and communication practices for social change are currently being reconfigured in both conceptual and rhetorical terms.
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" (Publisher description)
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