Guest lecturer: Kristin Vold Lexander
Kristin took her PhD in linguistics on
the use of SMS in Senegal, and also has research background in
development studies and African studies.
In 2011 she published the book Pluralité des langues, pluralité des cultures : regards sur l'Afrique et au-delà, with Chantal Lyche and Anne Moseng Knutsen. Kristin now teaches Ideas, Culture and Society at the Nansen Academy, besides holding a part time position at the University in Oslo.
In 2011 she published the book Pluralité des langues, pluralité des cultures : regards sur l'Afrique et au-delà, with Chantal Lyche and Anne Moseng Knutsen. Kristin now teaches Ideas, Culture and Society at the Nansen Academy, besides holding a part time position at the University in Oslo.
You can read a couple of interviews with Kristin at Forskning.no. Norwegian only, unfortunately: Sms kan redde språk | SMS gir liv til truede språk
Her lecture in the BA Course on Media & Politics at at Lillehammer University College can be viewed below as a Flash-presentation.
Goals of learning
- What role does ICTs play in globalization processes?
- How are the sudden rise of mobile phones empowering poor nations in the global periphery?.
- How do you apply mobile phones in grassroots activism?
- Why does new technologies affect communication codes and identity?
Syllabi
In the collection of articles:
- Ya’u, Y. Z. (2004). The New Imperialism & Africa in the Global Electronic Village.
- Etzo, S., & Collender, G. (2010). The mobile phone “revolution” in Africa: Rhetoric or reality?
- Lexander, K. V. (2011). Texting and African language literacy.
- Kreutz, C. (2010). Mobile Activism in Africa. Future Trends and Software Developments.
- Banks, K. (2010). Social Mobile: Empowering the Many or the Few?
Juliana Rotich: Meet BRCK, Internet access built for Africa
Watch the cofounder of the open-source software Ushahidi talk about the challenge to get and stay connected in a region with frequent blackouts and spotty internet hookups - and what Juliana and her friends did about it.
Useful links
- Journal of African Media Studies.
- Bouissau, J. (2013, July 30). “Info ladies” go biking to bring remote Bangladeshi villages online. the Guardian.
- Efrati, A. (2013, May 24). Google to Fund, Develop Wireless Networks in Emerging Markets. Wall Street Journal.
- Ehimuan, J. (2012, August 26). From farming to films: how the web is changing Africa. The Guardian.
- Guardian Africa network
- Howard, P. N. (2013, July 31). If Your Government Fails, Can You Create a New One With Your Phone? The Atlantic.
- S. Ekine (Ed.), Sms Uprising: Mobile Phone Activism in Africa. Cape Town: Pambazuka Press.
- Majeed, R. (2013, August 16). Bridging Kenya’s Data Divide. Foreign Policy.
- Meier, P. (2013a). iRevolution.
- Meier, P. (2013b, August 26). Making All Voices Count Using SMS and Advanced Computing. iRevolution.
- Smith, D. (2012, October 30). Africa’s top 10 tweeting politicians. The Guardian.
- Zuckerman, E. (2013). ... My heart’s in Accra.
Video playlist
Watch relevant videos for this lecture - one by one or browse through the playlist. If it is more convenient you may browse through the playlist directly on YouTube.
