Where are you Africa? : church and society in the mobile phone age / / Castor M. Goliama

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910960237203321
• Autore: Goliama Castor M
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Bamenda, Cameroon, : Langaa, 2011
• ISBN: 1-283-00487-9; 9786613004871; 9956-579-03-3; 9956-579-01-7; 9956-578-94-0
• Edizione: [1st ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (270 p.)
• Soggetti: Cell phones - Social aspects - Africa; Communication and culture - Africa; Social interaction - Technological innovations
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Description based upon print version of record.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references.
• Nota di contenuto: Cover; Title Page; Copyright Page; Contents; List of Abbreviations; Introduction; The Mobile Phone and its Emergent Cultures; Quest for Mobile Phone Theology in Africa; Mobile Cultures, Corruption and the Church in Africa; Chapter Outline; Notes; CHAPTER ONE - Media of Social Communications in Pre-Mobile phone Africa; Oral Media; Visits; Meetings and Marketplaces; Talking Drums; Print and Electronic Media; Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue per Radio-call; Gospel Music; Political Manipulation of Gospel Music; Gospel Music and HIV / AIDS; African Gilms with Religious Themes; Hallelujah Films and Ecumenical / Interreligious DialogueConcluding Remarks; Notes; CHAPTER TWO - Is the Mobile Phone Liberating Africa?; The Mobile Phone as a Transformative Factor; Mobile Phones and Africa's Communication ""Revolution""; Mobile Communication ""Revolution"" and the ""Wealth Paradox""; Mobile Phones and Poverty Alleviation; Optimistic Signs; Mobile phone as Globalisation: Have the Rules Changed?; Sacrifices of the Poor at the Altar of Modernity; Mobile Phone Mania; Polarisation between the Rich and the Poor; Online ; Beggars and Dependency Syndrome; Feminisation of the Mobile Phone and African WomenAmplifying the Voices of African Women; which Mobiles are Suitable for African Women?; Enganging Mobile in Health Issues; Globalisation of African Traditional Healers; Mobiles and Democratisation of Africa; 'Paparazzi-boom' and Empowerment of Whistleblowers; Spiritual Undertones of Mobile Communications; Will the Rosary Survive?; The Mobile Phone and the Idolatry of Work; Faith Communities and Negotiation of Mobile Technologies; Negotiation with Teleophone by Amish Church; The 'Kosher' Cell-phone in Israel; Concluding Remarks; Notes; CHAPTER THREE - Mobile Cultures and Ubuntu Paradigm of SolidarityAnatomy of Mobile Cultures; Ubuntu Philosophy of Life; Ubuntu-enhancing Mobile Cultures; Solidarity in Sharing Mobile Handsets; Crossing Social Divides and Interconnectedness; The Mobile Question ""Where are you?""; Virtual versus Face-to-face Communication; Youth-empowering Mobile Cultures; Women and Subversion of Traditional Gender Roles; Mobile Reinforcement of Social Integrity; Mutual Empowerment between Migrant and Home Folks; Anti-Ubuntu Mobile Cultures; When 'Absent-presence' Overshadows Neighbour; Intrusion of Public OrderServing Two Masters at Time; The Youth now ""hanging out"" Digitally; African Women: Digitally confined to the ""Kitchen""; Mobile Gossip and Intrusion of Private Life; Mobile Addiction Tendencies; Mobile Alibis and Denialist Attitudes of African Leaders; Uncritical Consumption of Mobile-mediated Products; Utilitarian Mobile Working Cultures; Mobile Cultures and the Millstones of Migration; ""Absent Presence"" and the Culture of Blame; Fragility of Ubuntu Solidarity in Current Africa; Concluding Remarks; Notes; CHAPTER FOUR - Mobile Cultures and Social Justice; Media as ""Gifts of God""
• Sommario/riassunto: This is an original and innovative study of mobile phones in Africa from a theological perspective. The First and the Second Special Assemblies for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, held in Rome in 1994 and 2009 respectively, made an urgent appeal to the Church in Africa to employ various media forms of social communications for evangelization and the promotion of justice and peace. Evidently, electronic media are now increasingly used for evangelization across Africa. The proliferation of the mobile phone in Africa is a most welcome development to this end. On the basis of a thorough review of