Social Inequalities, Media, and Communication: Theory and Roots

by Jan Servaes City University of Hong Kong (Editor), Toks Oyedemi (Editor), Leo Van Audenhove (Contribution by), Debra M. Clarke (Contribution by), Banu Durdag (Contribution by)

Overview

Social Inequalities, Media, and Communication: Theory and Roots provides a global analysis of the intersection of social inequalities, media, and communication. This book contains chapter contributions written by scholars from around the world who engage in country- and region-specific case studies of social inequalities in media and communication. The volume is a theoretical exploration of the classical, structuralist, culturalist, postmodernist, and postcolonial theoretical approaches to inequality and how these theoretical discourses provide critical understanding of social inequalities in relation to narratives shaped by media and communication experiences. The contributors provide class and gender analyses of media and culture, engage theoretical discourses of inequalities and capitalism in relation to communication technologies, and explore the cyclical relationship of theory and praxis in studying inequalities, media, and communication.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498523455
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	09/08/2017
Series:	Communication, Globalization, and Cultural Identity
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	5.86(w) x 9.04(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Jan Servaes is chair professor in the Department of Media and Communication at the City University of Hong Kong and UNESCO chair in communication for sustainable social change at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Toks Oyedemi received his PhD from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Is In/Equality Thinkable?, Toks Oyedemi and Jan Servaes
Part I: In Search of the Theoretical Roots for a Study of Social Inequalities and Communication
Chapter 1: Framing Social and Digital Inequalities: A Structuralist, Culturalist, and Post-modernist Theoretical Review, Toks Oyedemi
Chapter 2: Theorizing Digital Divides and Digital Inequalities, Massimo Ragnedda and Glenn W. Muschert
Chapter 3: North-South “Miscommunication” about “Sustainable Development” and Social Change: Contributions from Postcolonial and Decolonial Theories, Eunice Castro Seixas
Chapter 4: Postcolonial Critical Discourse Analysis, Ruth Sanz Sabido
Part II: Class Analysis of Media and Culture
Chapter 5: Class and Gender Inequalities in the Process of Political Communication: Canadian Illustrations, Debra M. Clarke
Chapter 6: Black Anglophone Oligarchy in Jamaica: An Alliance of Media and State, Nova M. Gordon-Bell
Chapter 7: Media Representation of Class Issues in Turkey: A Review on Media Coverage of Work-Related Rights, A. Fulya Sen and Y. Furkan Sen
Part III: Technology and Inequalities
Chapter 8: Creating the Myth of Better Future: Technological Determinism and Reproducing Social Inequalities, Banu Durdağ
Chapter 9: Digital by Default: Consequences, Casualties and Coping Strategies, Ilse Mariën, Rob Heyman, Koen Salemink, and Leo Van Audenhove
Chapter 10: From Racial Capitalism to Democratic Capitalism: History of Inequalities in South Africa and Access to Communication Technologies, Toks Oyedemi
Part IV: From Theory to Praxis (and Vice Versa)
Chapter 11: Reform and Vulnerability: Parsing Out the Cyclical Relationship of Praxis and Theory, Kala Ortwein, Sarah Rowe, and Olga Shapovalova
Annex 1: Personal Resources: At-risk Indicators and Characteristics of Social and Digital Exclusion
Annex 2: Social Resources: At-risk Indicators and Characteristics of Social and Digital Exclusion
Annex 3: Cultural Resources: At-risk Indicators and Characteristics of Social and Digital Exclusion
Annex 4: Economic Resources: At-risk Indicators and Characteristics of Social and Digital Exclusion
Annex 5: Political Resources: At-risk Indicators and Characteristics of Social and Digital Exclusion

Editorial Reviews

Social Inequalities, Media, and Communication: Theory and Roots offers a different approach to the field of media and communication research. The thematic area as such is well known and frequently studied, but this anthology brings in a new bouquet of fresh international researchers. It also provides new frameworks for such well-studied concepts as the North/South contradiction, digital divide, and sustainable development. The chapters are based on historical roots and postcolonial theories, but they also present case studies on class, race, gender, and communication technology, frequently challenging conventional categories of theory and praxis.

Ullamaija Kivikuru

If Thomas Piketty put inequality on the global agenda for academics and policy makers, then this collection puts it on the map for communication scholarship, policy research, and media activism. Combining a range of approaches to critical theory with rich case studies, Social Inequalities, Media, and Communication shines a bright light on one of the world’s most critical problems.

Vincent Mosco