ABSTRACT

The book covers African communication systems, discussing modes and forms of communication across West, East and Southern Africa and comparing them with traditional and new media.

African Communication Systems and the Digital Age contextualizes communication by bringing to the table African contributions to the field, examining the importance of African indigenous forms of communication and the intersection of African communication systems and the digital age. The book covers various concepts, models, theories and classifications of African communication systems, including instrumental communication, types of African music and their communication properties, indigenous writing systems, non-verbal communication, and mythological communication. Through careful analysis of communication in Africa, this book provides insights into the various modes of communication in use prior to the advent of traditional and new media as well as their continued relevance in the digital age.

African Communication Systems and the Digital Age will be of interest to students and scholars of African communication.

chapter 1|13 pages

Background and context of African communication systems

Decolonizing and contextualizing communication

chapter 2|11 pages

Conceptualizing African communication systems

Classification, theories and models of African communication systems

chapter 3|15 pages

Instrumental communication

Devices and instruments

chapter 4|15 pages

Demonstrative communication

Music

chapter 5|10 pages

Iconographic communication

Icons

chapter 6|12 pages

Extra-mundane communication

Africa and the realm of the supernatural

chapter 7|12 pages

Visual communication

Non-verbal communication

chapter 8|13 pages

Institutional communication

Traditional institutions

chapter 9|12 pages

Venue-oriented communication, structure and features

Sites of communication

chapter 10|10 pages

Mythological communication

Myths and legends

chapter 11|9 pages

Taxonomic communication

Names as communication

chapter 12|11 pages

Axiomatic communication

Folktales and proverbs