Reconstructing Cohesion throughRadio Salaams Clubs’ ‘Imagined Communities’ in Kenya
Journal Title: Scholars Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - Year 2016, Vol 4, Issue 8
Abstract
Abstract: Kenya has undergone experiences of disunity and fragmentation based on identifiable factors such as ethnicity and tribalism. The media has the lead role in ensuring the country remains united if its developmental role is to be achieved under a peaceful environment. This article therefore, examines radio audience as imagines communities and how such communities as Salaams Clubs can be utilised as uniting tools in Kenya. The article’s argument is derivative and wades through the following key questions 1) what are the features of ‘imagined communities’ as espoused by Anderson? 2) What are the characteristics of imagined media audience? 3) How is audience imagined and mediated by radio as seen in Salaams Clubs? And 4) what could be the value of Salaams Clubs in uniting Kenyan audience and cultivating nationhood? Benedict Anderson’s concept of nations as ‘imagined communities’in appreciating radio audiences anchoring on the Salaams Clubs is adopted. The article advances the argument that mediation applies to radio audiences who are, first and foremost, an imagined community, which as argued by many, can never be homogenous. That radio audience forms a multiplicity of dynamic identities. In the process of imagining and mediating, radio like all other mediums brings the audience together for purposes beyond their imagination such as sharing feelings, experiences and belongingness. The article is aimed at contributing to knowledge on the conceptualisation of mass audiences and the internal benefit of such a process to them, which is one of the key issues in the study of mass communication. Keywords: Salaams Clubs, Imagined Communities, Nationhood.
Authors and Affiliations
Kioko Kivandi, Felicia Yieke, Michael M. Ndonye
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP379140
- DOI -
- Views 52
- Downloads 0
Gender Stereotypes in Higher Education: A Profile of Kerala
Abstract: Education is one of the most important means of empowering women with knowledge, skills and self-confidence necessary to participate fully in the developmental process. Higher education is recognized as a power...
African Culture and the Problems of Social Order in Nigeria
No part of culture is totally unrelated to the social order, but it remains true that changes sometimes occur which has resulted to the recent societal unrest. Political crises, youth unrest, armed robbery, corruption an...
Fellowship of Trinity College London and Its Equivalence in Malaysia
Trinity College London currently offers eight FTCL qualifications, which are recognized at Level 7 of the National Qualifications Framework in the UK. This article seeks to explain the equivalence of the FTCL qualificati...
Fear Development, theStaged Approach
In modern empiric literature that is concerning the issue of business management especially about administration of changes (turnarounds, crisis recovery etc.,) fear is majorly treated as solid, negative and demolishing...
A Study of Some Psycho – Social Dimensions of Rural Poverty with Reference To North Bihar, India
Poverty is a global phenomenon. It is a national problem in all the under-developed and developing countries. Even most developed countries face this problem, though their measures of poverty are different. The present r...