ABOUT US 

BACKGROUND

One of the devastating legacies of our colonial and apartheid histories, is the persistence of eurowestern-centric knowledge production with formal universities central to the perpetuation and reinforcement of coloniality (Frassinelli 2018:5; Mbembe 2016:32; Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2015:487). Some of these colonial manifestations include African decenteredness in dominant social theory, a dearth of African academe, and the exclusion and silencing of Black African Intellectuals in scholarly discourse (Asante 2017:1; Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2015:285). To rid ourselves of coloniality we are called to Decoloniality; the constant opposition and confrontation to the coloniality of power, knowledge, and being (Maldonado-Torres 2016:2). While the Decolonial Project fittingly intends to dismantle and critique, it also refers to taking a Decolonial turn; imagining and creating alternative world order from within. A Decoloniality that originates in Africa, by Africans, involves taking action to shift the production of knowledge towards new, rich, and engaging narratives that re-centre Africa (Asante 2017:3; Chilisa 2012:17; CHS 2015; Maldonado-Torres 2007:261).

For South African knowledge institutions, the Decolonial project include dewesternisation of our subjects of study, analytical frameworks, and academic cultures and discourses (Waisbord & Mellado 2014:363). In line with such a Decolonial project, Unisa’s main vision statement “Towards the African university shaping futures in the service of humanity” informs a transformational and change-orientated strategy towards African scholarship, cultural change for diversity and transformation, rethinking systems, asserting ethical, transformative and intellectual leadership, and a discourse of change (Unisa 2016).

The need for collaborative communities of communication science researchers, students, and intellectuals that stretch beyond the boundaries of universities, that engage in authentic intellectual discourse and contribute to the development of an alternative body of knowledge in service of African humanity.

To this end, the project intends to stimulate and contribute to an emerging African knowledge community by facilitating participatory scholarly discourse on relevant topics related to Communication.

Such an ambition implies a long-term sustainable effort and (the project) is envisioned to grow in scope over time. This newsletter aims at the scholarly/intellectual community of those working in communications and related fields (both inside and outside formal universities) as a platform for African scholarship and African intellectual discourse. We hope to, in the future, expand from the newsletter to a fuller online knowledge community.

The project aims to provide an open access, interactive digital space for sharing of theoretical, methodological, pragmatic and experimental ideas and developments within the field of Communication Science.