Developments of African Professional Communication within the Context of the Global Community 

Levi Obonyo

Abstract

The study of communication is new in Africa in many ways. The departments of communication in the universities are young and in some cases only forming; the libraries are sparsely stocked; the journals in the field in the continent are few and far apart; most of the faculty members are yet to season in the field but that problem is compounded in that most of the qualified individuals do not stay in the academy long enough to contribute to it. But these are not the only challenges that the field faces in the continent. The programs are poorly funded and the field is yet to be sufficiently anchored in a definitve philosophy or even tradition. These are challenges that the study of communication will need to overcome for the field in Africa to grow and contribute to the global area. As it sits now, there is no clear indication that the discipline of communication is maturing in the continent thus calling for collective attention from emerging scholars in order to make a difference. That is the difference that those in the field need to start making now.

Keywords: Communication Discipline, Communication Philosophy, Communication Theory, Communication Research, African Journalism

See Full Article