Decolonising Communication for Development and Social Change: Critical Reflections from Sub-Saharan Africa

This book brings together research and critical perspectives from scholars across Sub-Saharan Africa and its diaspora to advance African-centred approaches to communication for development and social change. It is intended for scholars, researchers, students, and practitioners in communication, development studies, and the social sciences. This book brings together research and critical perspectives from scholars across Sub-Saharan Africa and its diaspora to advance African-centred approaches to communication for development and social change. It challenges Western-dominated frameworks by foregrounding indigenous knowledge systems and positioning communication as a space for decolonial transformation, social justice, and inclusive development. The volume develops theoretical and methodological insights that centre African epistemologies within global debates, interrogating entrenched power structures while promoting cultural diversity and social cohesion. Through interdisciplinary approaches, it draws on decolonial and postcolonial frameworks to examine how African knowledge informs communication practices across education, health, digital media, intercultural engagement, and community contexts. The volume explores pedagogical practices, health communication strategies, and media dynamics through a decolonial lens. The book offers practical and conceptual tools for fostering resistance, collective action, and socially grounded transformation, while encouraging critical reflection on dominant knowledge systems. This book is intended for scholars, researchers, students, and practitioners in communication, development studies, higher education, and the social sciences who are interested in decoloniality, African knowledge systems, and socially just approaches to communication.