Special Issue: Beyond De-Westernization and Transcultural Communication 

Studies: Perspectives from the Global South

The Journal of Transcultural Communication (JTC), published by De Gruyter, cordially invites scholars from a range of disciplines (e.g., political science, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, media and communication studies, etc) to submit manuscripts for a thematic issue: “ Beyond De-Westernization and Transcultural Communication Studies: Perspectives from the Global South.”

Despite calls for “de-Westernizing” and “de-colonizing” media and communication studies, academics continue to rely on scholarship rooted in Western philosophical and social scientific traditions, and to take for granted the Anglophone Global North as the primary site of knowledge production, conceptual value, and theoretical building. Perspectives from the Global South (e.g., Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America) are limited. The fluid, dynamic and complex transcultural communication experiences in the Global South context, characterized by differential economic and social change, alternative modernities, and postcolonial histories, might open up new theoretical and empirical horizons for scholars. Why, despite efforts, the effects remain limited? How should media and communication scholars rectify the deeply rooted Western-centric perspective and put de-Westernization into practice? What needs to be considered when using terms such as “de-Westernization”?

The study of transcultural communication and the related fields has begun to emerge as it transcends previous inter-cultural/cross-cultural research paradigms (Jiang, 2021). How can it be linked to studies focusing on the Global South? What opportunities and potentials are offered by the term “the Global South” for relocating debates in transcultural communication studies? How should transcultural communication scholars use the vantage point of the Global South for theoretical and methodological contributions, break the monopoly of Western-centric discourse, and transcend “East-West”, “North-South”, and “Global-Local” dichotomies? What alternatives are there for the production of knowledge and the construction of new ideas?

This call for submissions aims to address the dominance of Western theories and approaches in transcultural communication studies and to interrogate the possibilities of thinking from the Global South. It is especially interested in how transcultural communication can be linked with the midst of changes in the Global South. It will also examine the interface between global media and transcultural communication theories through a range of interdisciplinary perspectives and approaches applied to the Global South. In this special issue, we hope to move beyond the limitations of existing paradigms, to open up a broader theoretical field and methodological approach that transcend normative de-Westernization and the North-South dichotomy, as well as to explore the future of transcultural communication studies through a variety of discussions. These include, but are not limited to, globalization, critical theory, cultural studies, international communication, and post-structuralism. Following these considerations, scholars are encouraged to submit their original manuscripts that address the following topics, among others:

1) The role and potential of transcultural communication in advancing the imaginaries of the Global South

2) Theoretical development of transcultural communication that takes into account of the Global South

3) New methodological approaches for Global South scholars to advancing transcultural communication

4) Empirical Studies of transcultural communication, including at least one country from the Global South (e.g., Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America) /or from a de-Westernization perspective; comparative approach is also welcome.

5) Contemporary popular forms of transcultural communication as manifested in diverse global south contexts

6) Language and transcultural communication in the Global South and/or from a de-Westernization perspective

7) The impact of digital media on transcultural communication in the Global South and/or from a de-Westernization perspective

8) Indigenous and localized philosophical traditions/non-Western thought traditions from the Global South and their relation to transcultural communication studies.

The JTC seeks papers that engage deeply with contexts of the Global South. Contributors are encouraged to consider the roles technology and digital media play in transcultural communication in the Global South. Theoretical and/or empirical articles are welcome. As researchers from the Global South are underrepresented in transcultural communication research, the JTC encourages submissions of abstracts and articles from scholars and critical thinkers based in, or hailing from, the Global South.

Please send a 500-word abstract and short author biography to journaloftransculturalcom@bfsu.edu.cn, by March 10, 2022. The editorial team will notify authors of its decisions by March 28, 2022. Authors whose abstracts are accepted must submit the full paper, following the JTC “Instructions for Authors” by June 15, 2022. Acceptance of an abstract does not guarantee publication, as all full papers are subject to peer review. Articles must be original and not under consideration by other publications.

Guest Editors

Hangwei Li, SOAS, University of London, UK

Bob Wekesa, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Journal of Transcultural Communication

https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/jtc/html