scholarly journals Environmental and social injustices in East Africa: A critique of the modernization approach to environmental communication

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-116
Author(s):  
Margaret Jjuuko
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Communication ◽  
Development Communication ◽  
Capital Investments ◽  
East African ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
African Media

The existing environmental injustices in the world have often been linked to industrialisation and modernisation of nations. In a bid to develop and modernise their nations, East African governments have adopted neoclassical developmentalist ideals of 'modernization' and 'capital investments‘, which largely involve exploitation of natural and human resources. The consequence is rampant and severe environmental degradation and related impacts in the region. While environmental degradation impacts affect all people residing in the region, the poor are hit hardest since they do not have ways to deal with disasters; hence, it becomes an environmental and a social justice issue. Although mass media are viewed as change agents and key players in the development agenda, and are often tasked to communicate information as widely as possible, these have adopted hierarchical and top down approaches to environmental and social justice issues and, in the process, helped to deepen the existing inequalities in society. From perspectives of Development Communication, this article critiques modernization discourses to development including: 'Top-down experts of development‘, 'Blaming the victim‘ and 'Social Darwinism‘. The purpose is to demonstrate how the East African media deploy this framework to (mis)represent environmental issues leading to aggravated environmental and social injustices in these societies. The article argues for a 'solution journalism approach‘ to environmental communication, whereby media as advocates of development, focus more on the contextual factors within which environmental issues and problems transpire. 

scholarly journals Critiquing Anthropocentrism in Henry Ole Kulet’s Vanishing Herds

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-55
Author(s):  
Pushpa Raj Jaishi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Contemporary Society ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
East African ◽  
To Come

Vanishing Herds (2011) is Henry Ole Kulet’s novel that hovers around the ecological depletion caused by the anthropocentric attitude of the human beings. Set in the East African Savannah, the novel grapples with the critical issue of anthropogenic environmental degradation. The novel is based on the tribulations of a young Maasai couple –Kedoki and Norpisia whose epic journey through the wilderness provides a window through which the destruction of the physical environment can be viewed. Additionally, the text catalogues the challenges faced by a pastoralist community’s attempt to come to terms with the socio-economic realities of a fast-evolving contemporary society. The paper is an attempt to study this novel under the surveillance of green lens and throw light on the ecological destruction especially the clearing of the forest by human self centered endeavors and to critique the anthropocentric attitude of the human beings that render the environment at the verge of destruction.

scholarly journals Top-down venomics of the East African green mamba, Dendroaspis angusticeps , and the black mamba, Dendroaspis polylepis , highlight the complexity of their toxin arsenals

2016 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 148-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Petras ◽  
Paul Heiss ◽  
Robert A. Harrison ◽  
Roderich D. Süssmuth ◽  
Juan J. Calvete
Keyword(s):  
East African ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Dendroaspis Angusticeps

scholarly journals GENRE AND STYLISTIC DIVERSITY OF ECOLOGICAL PUBLICISM OF KYRGYZSTANA

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (5(74)) ◽  
pp. 15-20
Author(s):  
N. K. Dzhumagazieva
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Environmental Communication ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Synthesis Process ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Environmental Journalism ◽  
Man And Nature

The article discusses the features of the genres of environmental journalism in the aspect of the global problems of understanding the interaction of man and nature. In the modern period of the development of multimedia technologies and convergent journalism, journalism genres are experiencing “reboots”, therefore, the definition of genre identity and the further implementation of such an important topic as ecology in journalistic materials seems relevant.Journalism is constantly transforming, reflecting changes in society. Understanding her contemporary experience is one of the tasks of the methodology of the creative process. Journalism synthesizes theoretical research methods and ways of artistic reflection of reality. This synthesis process is especially evident in the way typification and individualization are carried out in society in terms of the development of environmental consciousness. In this regard, journalism and journalism are able to establish and develop environmental communication, the basis of which is the real relationship between man and nature, as well as the reflection of social reality, public opinion on informational issues related to environmental (environmental) issues.The journalism activism of Kyrgyzstan has a large-scale experience of reflecting environmental issues, which is associated with a value and cultural orientation, the foundations of which are laid in the socio-cultural traditions of the Kyrgyz people and are most vividly embodied in the work of the great Chingiz Aitmatov. This article attempts to typify the main genres and forms of journalism, reflecting environmental issues. The study allows us to conclude that at the present stage, definitions of journalism genres require transformation in the aspect of both purely national and general cultural issues. The practical significance lies in the inclusion in the list of basic disciplines of journalism faculties of the special course "Genres of Contemporary Environmental Journalism", which will make the learning process more substantive, relevant and relevant in the practice of modern media

scholarly journals Indigenous Art and Sovereignty Inspiring Change against Environmental Degradation

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Estelle Castro-Koshy ◽  
Géraldine Le Roux
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
French Guiana ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Waste Recycling ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Caribbean

This special issue on “Environmental Artistic Practices and Indigeneity: In(ter)ventions, Recycling, Sovereignty" constitutes a body of creative contributions and academic articles addressing numerous forms of artistic practices of the Pacific Islands, Australia, French Guiana, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia. Inspired by Indigenous artists and writers whose practices and creativity help reimagine sustainable ways to inhabit the world, this introduction and our special issue interrogate contemporary environmental issues and the legacy of colonisation. They examine how Indigenous artists and writers, and artists working with Indigenous artists and communities, have for decades raised awareness about environmental issues, and encouraged people to regain their agency to struggle against environmental degradation and further destruction of Indigenous people’s societies and health. This introduction contextualises the concepts and Indigenous terms used by artists to express their vision of what a respectful relationship with the environment would be. It also offers readings of the beautiful literary and artistic creative contributions included in this issue. Environmental themes such as waste recycling, health issues, pollutants (mercury, POPs), and agricultural technics are discussed here in light of human and non-human life and agency. This issue also features a significant range of calls for action to better protect and restore ecosystems.

scholarly journals Formation and development of environment in Kyrgyz literature and journalism

2020 ◽  
Vol 210 ◽  
pp. 15017
Author(s):  
Nurzhan Dzhumagazieva
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Degradation ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Literary Analysis ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Scientific Article ◽  
Methodological Basis ◽  
Evolution Of Ideas

The purpose of the scientific article is to consider the stages of formation of the term "environment" in Kyrgyz literature and journalism. The article considers the specifics of journalistic literature of Kyrgyzstan as part of the general socio-cultural context of the country, and reviews journalism and socially oriented poetry of the Kyrgyz people. The place of the concept "environment" in the works of authors of Kyrgyzstan is determined. An analysis of the main periods of development of journalism in Kyrgyzstan was made, which allowed us to trace the etymology of the term "environment". The topic of the development of environmental issues in the works of Kyrgyzstan is relevant in the modern world, as the rapid development of industry and the increasing level of urbanization contributes to environmental degradation. Within the framework of a global scale, consideration of this problem in the framework of literary analysis will allow us to formulate the importance of the educational function of journalism in solving environmental issues. Environmental issues are popular. However, the topic of formation and development of the environment in Kyrgyz literature and journalism has not been studied. That is why the scientific novelty of the work is to develop a periodization of the evolution of ideas of environmentalism in literature and journalism. The methodological basis of the research is the analysis of literary and journalistic works of Kyrgyzstan at different stages of development of the territory under consideration.

scholarly journals Climate Dialog, Climate Action: Can Democracy Do the Job?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Young Phillips ◽  
LaVonne Reimer ◽  
Rebecca Turner
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Ipcc Report ◽  
Climate Action

The latest IPCC report forcefully states that immediate, decisive, and large-scale actions are needed to avert climate catastrophe. This essay presumes that democratic governments are best and most desirably positioned to take these actions. Yet in the countries most pivotal to global climate, significant voting blocs are uninterested in environmental issues. The essay urges adding bottom-up dialog between environmental and anti-environmental voters, to current and future top-down technocratic “solutions.” To make this combination result in a unified pro-environment electorate, we must understand: religious objections to environmentalism; the capital-vs.-knowledge strife that slows polluting corporations’ green transitions; and the psychological mechanisms that can make inter-group dialog fruitful.

Advancing Local, Social, and Ecological Transitions Through Community Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 209-227
Author(s):  
Anne C. Jennings
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
River Catchment ◽  
The World ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Justice Practice

This chapter explores social work and community development practices in light of the urgent social, economic, and environmental issues facing the world today. Can those professions, established to support individuals and communities, overcome social disadvantage, evolve into new, alternative roles that seek combined human and non-human (animals, plants, living organisms) understandings leading towards transformative practices? Those professions are viewed within their own constructs and environmental agendas. Ancient and contemporary Indigenous knowledges are then considered, as they relate to the First Law of caring for their living country and living lifestyles. Two community development case studies are examined, involving non-Indigenous people in their community, and Indigenous traditional owners across a whole river catchment to address key questions: How can those disciplines contribute to ecological transformation? Can they appreciate and include non-humans in their practice? and How can Indigenous ancient and current knowledges contribute to social justice practice?

scholarly journals The Rain Keeps Falling

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 122-127
Author(s):  
Deborah Rose
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Young Woman ◽  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Bob Dylan ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The 1960S

The force of disaster hit me in the heart when, as a young woman, I heard Bob Dylan sing ‘Hard Rain’. In a voice stunned by violence, the young man reports on a multitude of forces that drag the world into catastrophe. In the 1960s I heard the social justice in the song. In 2004 the environmental issues ambush me. The song starts and ends in the dying world of trees and rivers. The poet’s words in both domains of justice are eerily prophetic. They call across the music, and across the years, saying that a hard rain is coming. The words bear no story at all; they give us a series of compelling images, an account of impending calamity. The artistry of the poet—Bob (Billy Boy) Dylan—offers sequences of reports that, like Walter Benjamin’s storm from paradise, pile wreckage upon wreckage.

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