Social Inequalities, Media, and Communication

Theory and Roots

Contributions by Leo Van Audenhove, Debra M. Clarke, Banu Durdag, Nova M. Gordon-Bell, Rob Heyman, Ilse Mariën, Glenn W. Muschert Miami University, Ohio, Kala Ortwein, Toks Oyedemi, Massimo Ragnedda, Sarah Rowe, Ruth Sanz Sabido, Koen Salemink, Eunice Castro Seixas, A. Fulya Sen, Y. Furkan Sen, Jan Servaes City University of Hong Kong, Olga Shapovalova Edited by Jan Servaes City University of Hong Kong, Toks Oyedemi

Publication date:

04 February 2016

Length of book:

312 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

237x159mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781498523431

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.

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

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.