Sarah Chiumbu | Human Sciences Research Council (original) (raw)
Papers by Sarah Chiumbu
Critical Arts, 2006
The arrival of the digital era provides great opportunities for developing countries in accessing... more The arrival of the digital era provides great opportunities for developing countries in accessing information and knowledge. The development of digital libraries and archives, Internet-based distance learning programmes and the ability of scientists and researchers to access a sophisticated on-line computer database of technical information in real time are some of the examples. But the arrival of the digital era also poses some new and serious threats to the accessing and dissemination of knowledge. In particular, there is a real risk that the potential of the Internet in the developing world will be lost as rights owners use technology to prevent public access through pay-to-view systems.
African Identities, 2012
Mobile phones have developed explosively in Africa, with South Africa having one of the highest m... more Mobile phones have developed explosively in Africa, with South Africa having one of the highest mobile phone penetrations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mobile phones have introduced a set of new communicative and cultural practices. Innovative pricing models in Africa, such as ‘pay-as-you go’ and ‘please call me’ have helped to make mobile phones a part of the lives of many who are otherwise disconnected. Social justice movements in South Africa, often marginalized by mainstream communication systems, are increasingly using mobile phones to coordinate actions, mobilize and create networks despite the fact that most of these movements have their origins among deprived communities. This article analyses how the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign appropriates mobile phones and the impact of this appropriation on its roles and collective identities. In addition, the article examines how the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign has (re)appropriated and re-shaped the mobile phone to amplify traditional methods of mobilization; leading to the creation of what Henry Jenkins (2006) has called ‘convergence culture’. Drawing on social construction of technology and domestication theories, the article argues that mobile phones have not replaced traditional ways of mobilization, but have amplified them. In this regard, the use of both traditional mobilization tools and mobile phones strengthen mobilization activities and give new meaning to the mobile phone.
The arrival of the digital era provides great opportunities for developing countries in accessing... more The arrival of the digital era provides great opportunities for developing countries in accessing information and knowledge. The development of digital libraries and archives, Internet-based distance learning programmes and the ability of scientists and researchers to access a sophisticated on-line computer database of technical information in real time are some of the examples. But the arrival of the digital era also poses some new and serious threats to the accessing and dissemination of knowledge. In particular, there is a real risk that the potential of the Internet in the developing world will be lost as rights owners use technology to prevent public access through pay-to-view systems.
This article analyses the role of new media technologies in transforming radio practices in South... more This article analyses the role of new media technologies in transforming radio practices in South Africa in terms of institutional cultures and audience engagement. With emphasis on the Internet and mobile phones, the paper focuses on three radio stations -Safm, Talk Radio 702, and Bush Radio. Drawing on theories of public spheres and theories of publics, the paper argues that ICTs have expanded communicative radio spaces and transformed the nature of audience engagement. Through these expanded spaces, radio stations increasingly view their listeners as publics rather than merely audiences, meaning that listeners now produce, circulate and share information in ways that allow them to organise themselves into a public around radio texts. While the argument in this paper has acknowledged the positive role of ICTs in expanding discursive spaces and transforming radio publics, realities of the digital divide in South Africa are not ignored.
The discourse of media reform emerged in southern Africa in the early 1990s on the back of a 'dem... more The discourse of media reform emerged in southern Africa in the early 1990s on the back of a 'democratisation agenda' supported by policies by Western donors. While much academic attention has been paid to the analysis of media reforms in the region within democratisation and globalisation frameworks, less sustained analysis has been made in examining the role of bilateral and multilateral donors, in conjunction with various Western epistemic communities, in pushing a neo-liberal media reform agenda, which this paper argues is a continuation of the developmental project that started in the 1960s. In addition, discourses framing media reform policies and the manner in which domestic (read southern African) policy elites are incorporated into this neo-liberal transnational project have not been subject to systematic inquiry. This paper will dialogue with two conceptual positions: coloniality theories and postcolonial approaches to argue that the 'media and democracy' agenda, as a modernity project, has been an imposition of ideas and priorities from Western actors to advance certain material interests. In conclusion, this paper provides alternative ways of (re)conceptualising media reform in southern Africa.
Critical Arts, 2006
The arrival of the digital era provides great opportunities for developing countries in accessing... more The arrival of the digital era provides great opportunities for developing countries in accessing information and knowledge. The development of digital libraries and archives, Internet-based distance learning programmes and the ability of scientists and researchers to access a sophisticated on-line computer database of technical information in real time are some of the examples. But the arrival of the digital era also poses some new and serious threats to the accessing and dissemination of knowledge. In particular, there is a real risk that the potential of the Internet in the developing world will be lost as rights owners use technology to prevent public access through pay-to-view systems.
African Identities, 2012
Mobile phones have developed explosively in Africa, with South Africa having one of the highest m... more Mobile phones have developed explosively in Africa, with South Africa having one of the highest mobile phone penetrations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mobile phones have introduced a set of new communicative and cultural practices. Innovative pricing models in Africa, such as ‘pay-as-you go’ and ‘please call me’ have helped to make mobile phones a part of the lives of many who are otherwise disconnected. Social justice movements in South Africa, often marginalized by mainstream communication systems, are increasingly using mobile phones to coordinate actions, mobilize and create networks despite the fact that most of these movements have their origins among deprived communities. This article analyses how the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign appropriates mobile phones and the impact of this appropriation on its roles and collective identities. In addition, the article examines how the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign has (re)appropriated and re-shaped the mobile phone to amplify traditional methods of mobilization; leading to the creation of what Henry Jenkins (2006) has called ‘convergence culture’. Drawing on social construction of technology and domestication theories, the article argues that mobile phones have not replaced traditional ways of mobilization, but have amplified them. In this regard, the use of both traditional mobilization tools and mobile phones strengthen mobilization activities and give new meaning to the mobile phone.
The arrival of the digital era provides great opportunities for developing countries in accessing... more The arrival of the digital era provides great opportunities for developing countries in accessing information and knowledge. The development of digital libraries and archives, Internet-based distance learning programmes and the ability of scientists and researchers to access a sophisticated on-line computer database of technical information in real time are some of the examples. But the arrival of the digital era also poses some new and serious threats to the accessing and dissemination of knowledge. In particular, there is a real risk that the potential of the Internet in the developing world will be lost as rights owners use technology to prevent public access through pay-to-view systems.
This article analyses the role of new media technologies in transforming radio practices in South... more This article analyses the role of new media technologies in transforming radio practices in South Africa in terms of institutional cultures and audience engagement. With emphasis on the Internet and mobile phones, the paper focuses on three radio stations -Safm, Talk Radio 702, and Bush Radio. Drawing on theories of public spheres and theories of publics, the paper argues that ICTs have expanded communicative radio spaces and transformed the nature of audience engagement. Through these expanded spaces, radio stations increasingly view their listeners as publics rather than merely audiences, meaning that listeners now produce, circulate and share information in ways that allow them to organise themselves into a public around radio texts. While the argument in this paper has acknowledged the positive role of ICTs in expanding discursive spaces and transforming radio publics, realities of the digital divide in South Africa are not ignored.
The discourse of media reform emerged in southern Africa in the early 1990s on the back of a 'dem... more The discourse of media reform emerged in southern Africa in the early 1990s on the back of a 'democratisation agenda' supported by policies by Western donors. While much academic attention has been paid to the analysis of media reforms in the region within democratisation and globalisation frameworks, less sustained analysis has been made in examining the role of bilateral and multilateral donors, in conjunction with various Western epistemic communities, in pushing a neo-liberal media reform agenda, which this paper argues is a continuation of the developmental project that started in the 1960s. In addition, discourses framing media reform policies and the manner in which domestic (read southern African) policy elites are incorporated into this neo-liberal transnational project have not been subject to systematic inquiry. This paper will dialogue with two conceptual positions: coloniality theories and postcolonial approaches to argue that the 'media and democracy' agenda, as a modernity project, has been an imposition of ideas and priorities from Western actors to advance certain material interests. In conclusion, this paper provides alternative ways of (re)conceptualising media reform in southern Africa.