Digital communication as it is practiced in Africa today is at a crossroad. This edited collection takes that crossroad as its starting point, as it both examines the complicated present and looks to the uncertain future of African communication systems. Contributing authors explore how western digital communication systems have proliferated in the African communication landscape, and argue that rich and long-cherished African forms of communal, in-person communication have been increasingly abandoned in favor of assimilation to western digital norms. As a result, future generations of Africans born on the continent and abroad may never recognize and appreciate African systems of communications. Acknowledging that globalized digital communication systems are here to stay, the volume contends that in order to comprehend the past, present, and future of African communications, scholars need to decolonize their approach to teaching and consuming mediated and in-person communications on the African continent and abroad.

What are the ecclesiological challenges and opportunities raised by technology? How have developments related to the COVID-19 global health crisis impacted churches, forcing a swift move to mediated and online worship? And how will this change the shape churches of theological and programmatic choices for years to come? Drawing together a diverse group of theologians and media scholars, this volume considers the key theological question churches and religious leaders need to engage with as they look towards long term strategies involving church life and technology.

This book analyses how digital transformation disrupts established patterns of world politics, moving International Relations (IR) increasingly towards Digital International Relations. This volume examines technological, agential and ordering processes that explain this fundamental change. The contributors trace how digital disruption changes the international world we live in, ranging from security to economics, from human rights advocacy to deep fakes, and from diplomacy to international law. The book makes two sets of contributions. First, it shows that the ongoing digital revolution profoundly changes every major dimension of international politics. Second, focusing on the interplay of technology, agency and order, it provides a framework for explaining these changes. The book also provides a map for adjusting the study of international politics to studying International Relations, making a case for upgrading, augmenting and rewiring the discipline. Theory follows practice in International Relations, but if the discipline wants to be able to meaningfully analyse the present and come up with plausible scenarios for the future, it must not lag too far behind major transformations of the world that it studies. This book facilitates that theoretical journey. This book will be of much interest to students of cyber-politics, politics and technology, and International Relations.

Discourse-based approaches to studying organizations have grown in significance over the last 25 years. This accessible and insightful book exemplifies how to use a discursive approach to study organizations. By drawing on her own empirical research, Cynthia Hardy aligns key theoretical assumptions with a range of case studies to demonstrate the value and adaptability of a discursive approach.

This book surveys the African media industry, examining various sections of the media at the elite level. Drawing on contributors from diverse regions and media and communication disciplines, the book provides definitive analyses of the switch from analogue to digital broadcasting in select African countries. This timely and relevant collection of essays covers trending topics in communication and media studies, as scholars globally continue to examine the impact of digital technology on media practice, training, and education. The contributors offer rich perspectives on crucial issues, blending practice and scholarship as former media practitioners and academics come together to fill a major gap in media practice and education in Africa. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of globalization and African media.

This book explores the consequences of the changing landscape of media communication on Black interactions in the virtual space. Current developments in technology, such as facial recognition, have already disproportionately affected people of color, especially people of African descent. The rise of DeepFakes and other forms of Fake News online has brought a host of new impacts and potential obstacles to the way that Black communities communicate. With a focus on the emergence of DeepFakes, and AI Synthetic Media, contributors have explored a range of themes and topics, including but not limited to: How do AI and digital algorithms impact people of color? How does Social Media shape Black women's perception of their body? How vulnerable are young Africans to social media generated fake news? Contributions have examined how Black virtual, in person and digital communication is affected by the current onslaught of misinformation, manipulated images and videos, and changing social media landscape.

Black Lives and Digi-Culturalism: An Afrocentric Perspective uses several lenses to examine the role of African Americans and Africans in the production and consumption of information in digital spaces. This book explores topics such as Black confluence of digital and in-person spaces, cyberculture and Black identity, cyberfeminists and Black gendered voices, digi-culture and racism, capitalism and digital colonization, digital activism and politics, minorities and artificial intelligence, among other topics. Scholars of African and Black Diaspora studies, digital media culture, and communication will find this book particularly interesting.

This thoroughly revised second edition Handbook examines the latest knowledge and perspectives on digital politics. Leading scholars explore the expansion of digital technologies, channels and styles as it shapes political dynamics.

This book is a compilation of selected papers presented during the 8th Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) Young Graduates and Scholars (AYGS) Conference held at the University of Johannesburg in the year 2014. The three-day conference dubbed, Africa at a Crossroads: Future prospects for Africa after 50 years of the Organisation of African Unity/African Union, voiced young graduates and scholars’ views on Africa’s future and developmental breakthroughs, as well as its challenges and opportunities. While the annual conference is a capacity building platform for young scientists, it provided a platform for participants to engage in critical dialogue about the African realities and possible, plausible and desirable future for the continent. The book thus provides a critical interrogation of the drivers of change in Africa moving forward, especially as the AU was busy churning out new ideas and mapping out a new vision for the next 50 years. Essentially the book provides insights on national systems of innovation, matrices on poverty, climate change and lastly a reflection on Africa’s position in global governance.