Isaac Mhute – författare

Strategic communication is a pre-requisite for the achievement of organisational goals, and an effective strategic communication plan is vital for organisational success. However, systems and models dominant in the West may not necessarily be best suited for the sub-Saharan Africa reality, where many organisations lack adequate financial resources to develop and implement an effective strategic communication plan.

This book examines current practices in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the challenges faced and the intersection with culture. It packages inspiring debates, experiences and insights relating to strategic communication in all types of institutions, including private and public sector organisations, governmental organisations and NGOs, political parties as well as social movements in the sub-Saharan context. It explores how culture is integral to the attainment of strategic communication goals, and diverse case studies across socio-economic contexts offer insights into the successes of organisations across Africa, including Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Lesotho and Nigeria.

This unique edited collection is a valuable resource for worldwide scholars, researchers and students of strategic communication and organisational studies, as well as related fields including public relations, advertising, political and health communication and international studies.

Strategic communication is a pre-requisite for the achievement of organisational goals, and an effective strategic communication plan is vital for organisational success. However, systems and models dominant in the West may not necessarily be best suited for the sub-Saharan Africa reality, where many organisations lack adequate financial resources to develop and implement an effective strategic communication plan.

This book examines current practices in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the challenges faced and the intersection with culture. It packages inspiring debates, experiences and insights relating to strategic communication in all types of institutions, including private and public sector organisations, governmental organisations and NGOs, political parties as well as social movements in the sub-Saharan context. It explores how culture is integral to the attainment of strategic communication goals, and diverse case studies across socio-economic contexts offer insights into the successes of organisations across Africa, including Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Lesotho and Nigeria.

This unique edited collection is a valuable resource for worldwide scholars, researchers and students of strategic communication and organisational studies, as well as related fields including public relations, advertising, political and health communication and international studies.

Membering the Rhodesian Linguistic Agenda in Zimbabwe reports on a study carried out in Zimbabwe to ascertain the degree and effect of honouring the colonial linguistic agenda.

The book employs an interpretivist philosophy and qualitative research approach that relies on participatory observations, interviewing purposively sampled informants and focus group discussions involving snowball sampled graduates. It was inspired by the Critical Language Policy Theory that considers language choice a critical determinant factor in how communities are administered politically, economically, socioculturally and educationally. It establishes that whereas linguistic imperialism meant to serve as the lifeblood of the Southern Rhodesian colonial machine, the former coloniser ensured coloniality in Zimbabwe by presenting the English language as a sacred media in political, economic, sociocultural and educational settings forever. The study establishes that the only way Zimbabwe and other such post-colonies could find redemption is by eradicating the sacredness of former colonisers’ languages by adding value to all their languages and the indigenous knowledge systems associated with them. It also demonstrates that the bigger the delay, the more is irretrievably lost together with custodians of the languages.

This book will be informative for undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in linguistics, communication, sociology, anthropology and history. It may also serve well as a resource to government researchers, politicians and other policymakers.

Membering the Rhodesian Linguistic Agenda in Zimbabwe reports on a study carried out in Zimbabwe to ascertain the degree and effect of honouring the colonial linguistic agenda.

The book employs an interpretivist philosophy and qualitative research approach that relies on participatory observations, interviewing purposively sampled informants and focus group discussions involving snowball sampled graduates. It was inspired by the Critical Language Policy Theory that considers language choice a critical determinant factor in how communities are administered politically, economically, socioculturally and educationally. It establishes that whereas linguistic imperialism meant to serve as the lifeblood of the Southern Rhodesian colonial machine, the former coloniser ensured coloniality in Zimbabwe by presenting the English language as a sacred media in political, economic, sociocultural and educational settings forever. The study establishes that the only way Zimbabwe and other such post-colonies could find redemption is by eradicating the sacredness of former colonisers’ languages by adding value to all their languages and the indigenous knowledge systems associated with them. It also demonstrates that the bigger the delay, the more is irretrievably lost together with custodians of the languages.

This book will be informative for undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in linguistics, communication, sociology, anthropology and history. It may also serve well as a resource to government researchers, politicians and other policymakers.

This book is one of two volumes that examines the role of political communication, media and language in transforming politics, governance and democracy in sub-Saharan Africa. Interdisciplinary in approach, this second volume analyses themes including political advertising and rhetoric, activism, populism, fake news, and political violence. Combining theoretical work with individual case studies on countries including Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ghana, the book highlights the important connection between political communication and governance, and the ways in which language reforms can help to overcome challenges related to public administration. It will appeal to all those interested in public policy, public administration, governance, and political communication, as well as linguistics, media studies and African politics.

This book is one of two volumes that examines the role of political communication, media and language in transforming politics, governance and democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Interdisciplinary in approach, this first volume assesses themes including participatory politics, mass media, digital censorship, and social media and politics in the region. It also considers how politicians utilise language and the media to legitimate their authority, influence citizens’ behaviour, and the ways in which they vote. It will appeal to all those interested in governance, political communication, media studies and African politics.

This ground-breaking book focuses on the dynamic interplay between language and identity in postcolonial Anglophone African literature. It examines how African writers navigate and reshape linguistic/literary landscapes to articulate unique cultural experiences and resist neo-colonial legacies. The authors highlight the dynamics of sociolinguistic and cultural ecologies in the ever-evolving 21st century African and postcolonial contexts, and shed light on conceptions of African identities and humanity. The book contributes to postcolonial discourses and suggests new ways of reading changing textual practices, as well as providing important sites to rebuke differentiation politics at play between the Global South and North. The volume also illuminates intertextual conversations that will be insightful for other disciplines in the humanities. It will function as an important reference for scholars and students of languages, communication and media, Global South literatures, postcolonial African literary and cultural studies, and African philosophies and concepts. Whether one is an academic or a curious reader, this book promises to offer compelling insights and fascinating narratives that together enrich present-day understanding of the vibrant and evolving world of Anglophone African literature.

This book argues the case for indigenous African languages, which have been stripped of their importance and are now often overshadowed - both officially, through governmental language policies, and informally, through attitudes and ideologies - by former colonial languages. The authors present case studies from a range of countries in the region, arguing that languages tell us peoples’ identities, and that by dropping their own languages in favour of foreign and imperialist languages they lose their culture, history and identity as well. The book addresses many of the challenges currently associated with African languages, with the intention of influencing policy and practice in favour of their resuscitation. This book will be of interest to policy makers, academics and tertiary students in fields including Language Policy and Planning, Language Revitalisation, Heritage Language Learning, Indigenous and Endangered Languages, and Language Attitudes and Ideologies.