Communicating Social Change ─ Structure, Culture, and Agency

Communicating Social Change: Structure, Culture, and Agency explores the use of communication to transform global, national, and local structures of power that create and sustain oppressive conditions. Author Mohan J. Dutta describes the social challenges that exist in current globalization politics, and examines the communicative processes, strategies, and tactics through which social change interventions are constituted in response to the challenges. Using empirical evidence and case studies, he documents the ways through which those in power create conditions at the margins, and he provides a theoretical base for discussing the ways in which these positions of power are resisted through communication processes, strategies, and tactics. The interplay of power and control with resistance is woven through each of the chapters in the book.

This exceptional volume highlights the points of intersection between the theory and praxis of social change communication, creating theoretical entry points for the praxis of social change. It is intended for communication scholars and students studying activism, social movements, and communication for social change, and it will also resonate in such disciplines such as development, sociology, and social work, with those who are studying social transformations.

Mohan J. Dutta is Professor of Communication and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in Liberal Arts at Purdue University, where he teaches and conducts research in international health communication, critical cultural theory, poverty in healthcare, politics of resistance, and public policy and social change. In recognition of his scholarly productivity, Professor Dutta has been recognized as the Lewis Donohew Outstanding Scholar in Health Communication, and as the Lim Chong Yah Professor of Communication and New Media at the National University of Singapore. Currently, he serves as senior editor of the journal Health Communication.