Rethinking publics in Africa in a digital age

The digital transformations taking place across the African continent present an urgent need for fresh thinking in the study of publics. This introduction lays out the impetus and contribution of this Special Issue to such a rethinking of the study of publics in Africa. Following in the footsteps of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of Eastern African studies Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 2 - 17
Main Authors Srinivasan, Sharath, Diepeveen, Stephanie, Karekwaivanane, George
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Nairobi Routledge 02.01.2019
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Africa
Blogs
digital technology
Eastern Africa
Internet
Languages
Mass media
mobile communications
Mobile phones
Openness
Political participation
Politics
Popular culture
Publics
Scholarship
social media
Social networks
Technology
Wireless communications
East Africa
Africa
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Summary:The digital transformations taking place across the African continent present an urgent need for fresh thinking in the study of publics. This introduction lays out the impetus and contribution of this Special Issue to such a rethinking of the study of publics in Africa. Following in the footsteps of a wider body of scholarship, we draw on Africa's pasts and present in order to move beyond the limiting assumptions, histories and languages that are embedded within Western scholarship on publics. We make the case that both de-Westernising and capturing publics in a digital age in Africa require openness to a diversity of disciplines, approaches and questions. In addition, we explain how, collectively and individually, the articles in this Special Issue contribute to taking up this task. Taken together, the articles are an eye-opening collection on the unfolding practices of citizens convening and participating in discussions using both newer and older media and communication platforms across Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. Contributions cover diverse disciplinary perspectives and empirical cases that investigate publics convening around digital platforms from WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook to weblogs and dating apps on mobile phones. We see this endeavour of examining the complex and dynamic digital transformations across Eastern Africa as part of a crucial scholarly turn in which the study of African society and politics helps us to rethink ideas and concepts that have heritages elsewhere, and to understand them in a new light.
ISSN:1753-1055
1753-1063
DOI:10.1080/17531055.2018.1547259