Communication in development and social change: A genealogy of the field

Abstract

This chapter outlines the genealogy of the field of communication in development and social change. It provides a brief history of this field since the post-World War II years when development and communication theories and models were influenced by the modernization paradigm. The ferment in the field that occurred in the 1970s re-oriented the field from one of ‘development’ to ‘development and social change.' This re-orientation provided an impetus to participatory approaches involving all stakeholders in the process, giving rise to a social change communication model guided by critical and interpretive epistemologies and methods. The scholarship, since the 1980s, has increasingly moved to a critique of the socioeconomic and structural impediments that prevent people from emancipation due to discriminative and coercive structures in their societies. This critique gave rise to the concept and practice of empowerment and an emphasis on social justice imperatives in development and social change.