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Twenty Years of Communicating Social Change: A Southern African Perspective on Teaching, Researching and Doing

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Learning from Communicators in Social Change

Part of the book series: Communication, Culture and Change in Asia ((CCCA,volume 7))

Abstract

The Centre for Communication, Media and Society (CCMS) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in South Africa has contributed to the intellectual growth, pedagogy, and practical implementation of communication for social change over the past two decades. During this time our approach has evolved considerably. These transitions speak to both the structural and political situations in a transforming South Africa, as well as the personal and theoretical interests of the Centre’s staff. An indication of these shifts is visible through the changing names of our graduate modules. The chapter reflects some of the ways in which the established development communication paradigms framed the CCMS pedagogy, discourses and fieldwork over the past twenty years. It tracks and problematizes the way in which the modules have transitioned from Media, Democracy and Development (MDD) (2002) to Communication for Participatory Development (2019). Our changing interpretations of this field has informed three key CCMS research tracks: health communication and social change; rethinking indigeneity; and community media. These tracks also inform and structure the approach to, and content of, Masters, PhD and staff research and community engagement. In rethinking the power of development and the impact of community engagement, we reflect on CCMS’s development communication operationalization through partnerships with NGOs, indigenous communities and civil society organizations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of KwaZulu-Natal, 238 Mazisi Kunene Rd, 4001, Durban, South Africa

    Ruth Teer-Tomaselli, Lauren Dyll & Eliza Govender

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  1. Ruth Teer-Tomaselli
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  2. Lauren Dyll
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Correspondence to Ruth Teer-Tomaselli .

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  1. UNESCO Chair in Communication for Sustainable Social Change, Amherst, MA, USA

    Jan Servaes

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Teer-Tomaselli, R., Dyll, L., Govender, E. (2021). Twenty Years of Communicating Social Change: A Southern African Perspective on Teaching, Researching and Doing. In: Servaes, J. (eds) Learning from Communicators in Social Change. Communication, Culture and Change in Asia, vol 7. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8281-3_15

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