COMMUNICATION

 

Communicative action: The Habermasian and Freirean dialogical approach to participatory communication for social change in a post-1994 South Africa

 

Kommunikatiewe aksie: Die dialogiese benadering tot deelnemende kommunikasie vir sosiale verandering volgens Habermas en Freire

 

 

H. Otto; L.M. Fourie

School of Communication Studies, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, Potchefstroom. E-mail: Hannelie.Otto@nwu.ac.za, Lynnette.Fourie@nwu.ac.za

 

 

---

ABSTRACT

Despite its almost four decade mainstay, the field of participatory communication for social change still experiences a definitional and pragmatic problem regarding what exactly participation is (cf. Jacobson & Storey, 2004; Chambers, 1994; Melkote & Steeves, 2001; Rogers, 1976; Lerner, 1964; Schramm, 1964; Servaes, 1995). What remains is a vastly under-theorised field of participatory communication for social change. This article examines the possibility of participatory communication approaching the Habermasian "ideal speech situation" in which people, as communicators, are seen as having a value in their own right and not simply regarded as a means to an end (cf. Habermas, 1984; 1987; 1989). Consistent with the Freirean "liberal pedagogy", the praxis of dialogical communication or intersubjective communication is seen as putting right the "participative" quality of participatory communication (cf. Freire, 1970). For both theorists, transformative action can only occur if reflective and collective learning occurs in linguistically constructed settings where the normative dimensions of truth (logos), rightfulness (ethos) and truthfulness (pathos) are raised and met in the developmental conversation. This is especially significant in a globalised world and fragmented, post-bourgeois public sphere where debate among developmental stakeholders is becoming more marginal, instrumentalist, and less public. Based on available analyses of development communication literature, this article proposes that the chosen dialogical approaches share a type of communicative behaviour (i.e. action theoretic), rather than representing a particular paradigm or school of thought. This could offer further definitional clarification of proper participatory communication for social change in a post-1994 South Africa.

Key concepts: communicative action; developing democracy; dialogue; Freire; Habermas; postapartheid South Africa; public sphere

---

OPSOMMING

Na bykans vier dekades is daar nog steeds nie eenstemmigheid in die deelnemende kommunikasieveld vir sosiale verandering oor presies wat deelname behels of hoe dit prakties toegepas behoort te word nie (cf. Jacobson & Storey, 2004; Chambers, 1994; Melkote & Steeves, 2001; Rogers, 1976; Lerner, 1964; Schramm, 1964 Servaes, 1995). Die gevolg is dat daar nog baie min geteoretiseer is binne die veld van deelnemende kommunikasie vir sosiale verandering. Hierdie artikel ondersoek die moontlikheid dat deelnemende kommunikasie in die vorm van Habermas se "ideale spraaksituasie" as uitgangspunte vir die definiëring van deelname gebruik kan word. In hierdie "ideale spraaksituasie" word persone as kommunikeerders waardevol geag en nie slegs as objekte beskou nie (cf. Habermas, 1984; 1987; 1989). Ooreenstemmend met Freire se liberale pedagogie van ontwikkelings-kommunikasie, word die praktyk van dialogiese kommunikasie of intersubjektiewe kommunikasie as die regstelling van die deelnemende karakter van deelnemende kommunikasie geag (cf. Freire, 1970). Vir albei teoretici kan transformatiewe aksie slegs in reflektiewe en kollektiewe linguistiese kontekste plaasvind. Hier moet die normatiewe dimensies van waarheid (logos), geregtigheid (ethos) en opregtheid/empatie (pathos) tydens die ontwikkelingsdiskoers gestel, getoets en eindelik aanvaar word. Veral in 'n geglobaliseerde wêreld en in 'n gefragmenteerde, post-bourgeoisie publieke sfeer waar debat tussen ontwikkelingsrolspelers toenemend gemarginaliseerd en instrumenteel word, asook progressief minder toeganklik en deelnemend vir die samelewing is, is geleenthede vir toe-ganklike en onbelemmerde debat des te meer nodig. Gebaseer op die beskikbare analises van die ontwikkelingskommunikasie-literatuur, stel hierdie artikel voor dat die gekose dialogiese benaderings dieselfde kommunikasiegedrag veronderstel - dit wil sê wat aksie-teoreties van aard is eerder as wat dit 'n spesifieke paradigma of denkskool verteenwoordig. Hiervolgens kan die definisie van deelnemende ontwikkelingskommunikasie vir doeltreffende sosiale verandering in 'n post-1994 Suid Afrika verfyn word.

Kernbegrippe: dialoog; Freire, Habermas; kommunikatiewe aksie; ontwikkelende demokrasie; postapartheid Suid-Afrika; publieke sfeer

---

 

 

Full text available only in PDF format.

 

 

List of references

ALANT, C. 1990a. Society as dialogue. (In Alant, C., ed. Sociology and society: A humanist profile. Johannesburg: Southern Book. p. 51-71.         [ Links ])

ALANT, C. 1990b. On dialogue sociology: an exploration. (In Alant, C., ed. Sociology and society: a humanist profile. Johannesburg: Southern Book. p. 7-12.         [ Links ])

ALFARO, R. 2006. Excerpt from: state and civil society: a collaborative or cautionary relationship? (In Gumucio-Dagron, A & Tufte, T., eds. Communication for social change: anthology, historical and contemporary readings. South Orange: Communication for Social Change Consortium. p. 905-911.         [ Links ])

ANC. 1955. The freedom charter. http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/charter.html. Date of access: 12 Nov. 2008.         [ Links ]

ANC. 2002. People's power in action preface to the strategy and tactics of the ANC. http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/conf/conference51/strategy.html Date of access: 12 Nov. 2008.         [ Links ]

BARRANQUERO, A. 2006. From Freire and Habermas to multiplicity: widening the theoretical borders of participative communication for social change. (In Gumucio-Dagron, A & Tufte, T., eds. Communication for social change: anthology, historical and contemporary readings. South Orange: Communication for Social Change Consortium. p. 920-924.         [ Links ])

CASSIM, R. 2006. Reflections on South Africa's first wave of economic reforms. (In Padayachee, V., ed. The development decade? Economic and social change in South Africa, 1994-2004. Cape Town: HSRC. p. 55-85.         [ Links ])

CHAMBERS, S. 1994. Participatory rural appraisal (PRA): analysis of experience. World development, 22:1253-1268.         [ Links ]

CHITNIS, K. 2005. The duality of development: recasting participatory communication for development using structuration theory. Investigación y Desarrollo, 13(2):228-249.         [ Links ]

DUVENAGE, P. 2005. Habermas, the public sphere and beyond. Communication , 31(1):1-12.         [ Links ]

DUVENHAGE, A. 2007. Politieke transformasie as 'n ideologiese denkraamwerk: 'n beleidsdinamiese analise en perspektief. Koers, 72(3):377-403.         [ Links ]

EDIGHEJI, O. 2008. Introduction: public sector reforms and the quest for democratic developmentalism. Africa development, 33(4):1-13.         [ Links ]

ERIKSEN, E.O. & WEIGARD, J. 2003. Understanding Habermas: communicative action and deliberative democracy. London: Continuum.         [ Links ]

FINLAYSON, J.D. 2005. Habermas: a very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.         [ Links ]

FREIRE, P. 1970. Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder & Herder.         [ Links ]

FRIEDMAN, S. 2004. An act of will: manual and the politics of growth. (In Parsons, R., ed. Manuel, markets and money: essays in appraisal. Cape Town: Double Storey. p. 173-196.         [ Links ])

GOODE, L. 2005. Jürgen Habermas: democracy and the public sphere. London: Pluto.         [ Links ]

HABERMAS, J. 1984. The theory of communication action: reason and the rationalization of society. Transl. by T. McCarthy. Boston: Beacon.         [ Links ]

HABERMAS, J. 1987. The theory of communication action: lifeworld and system. Transl. by T. McCarthy. Boston: Beacon.         [ Links ]

HABERMAS, J. 1989. The structural transformation of the public sphere: an inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. Transl. by T. Burger & F. Lawrence. Cambridge: Polity.         [ Links ]

HART, G. 2006. Post-apartheid development in historical and comparative perspective. (In Padayachee, V., ed. The development decade? Economic and social change in South Africa, 1994-2004. Cape Town: HSRC. p. 13-33.         [ Links ])

HIRSCH, A. 2006. Foreword. (In Bhorat, H. & Kanbur, R., eds. Poverty and policy in post-apartheid South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC. p. xiii.         [ Links ])

HOOGEVEEN, J.G. & ÖZLER, B. 2006. Poverty and inequality in post-apartheid South Africa, 1995-2000. (In Bhorat, H. & Kanbur, R., eds. Poverty and policy in post-apartheid South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC. p. 59-94.         [ Links ])

HUNTINGTON, S.P. 1991. The third wave: democratization in the late twentieth century. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.         [ Links ]

JACOBSON, T.L & SERVAES, J. 1999. Introduction. (In Jacobson, T.L. & Servaes, J., eds. Theoretical approaches to particpatory communication. Creskill: Hampton. p. 1-13.         [ Links ])

JACOBSON, T.L & STOREY, J.D. 2004. Development communication and participation: applying Habermas to a case study of population programs in Nepal. Communication theory, 14(2):99-121.         [ Links ]

JACOBSON, T.L. 2003. On defining differentiating kinds of communication for Social Change: particpatory, non-participatory and their sub-types. Conference Papers, International Communication Association, Annual Meeting, San Diego.         [ Links ]

KAJEE, A. 2006. Global corruption report 2006. Country Report: South Africa.         [ Links ]

LAKATOS, I. 1970. Falsification and the methodology of scientific research programmes. (In Lakatos, I. & Musgrave, A., eds. Critisism and the growth of knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 91-196.         [ Links ])

LERNER, D. 1964. The passing of the traditional society: modernizing the Middle East. New York: Free Press.         [ Links ]

MAIL AND GUARDIAN. 2006. Municipalities chastised for late financial statements. http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=283130&area=/breaking_ news/breaking_news__national/ Date of access: 25 Nov. 2006.         [ Links ]

MAIL AND GUARDIAN. 2007. FXI: govt is gagging public health workers. http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=316708&area =/breaking_news/breaking_news__national Date of access: 16 Aug. 2006.         [ Links ]

MANTASHE, G. 2008. Focus on development. Focus, 52:24-25, Nov.         [ Links ]

MELKOTE, S.R. & STEEVES, H.L. 2001. Communication for development in the Third World: theory and practice for empowerment. New Delhi: Thousand Oaks.         [ Links ]

METH, C. 2006. Half-measures revisited: the ANC's unemployment and poverty reduction goals. (In Bhorat, H. & Kanbur, R., eds. Poverty and policy in post-apartheid South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC. p. 366-458.         [ Links ])

MORROW, R.A. & TORRES, C.A. 2002. Reading Freire and Habermas: critical pedagogy and transformative social changes. New York: Teachers College Press.         [ Links ]

NAIR, K.S. & WHITE, S.A. 1993. The development communication process: a reconceptualization. (In Nair, K.S. & White, S.A., eds. Perspectives on development communication. London: Routledge. p. 47-70.         [ Links ])

NÄRMAN, A. 2006. Paulo Freire (1921-1997). (In Simon, D., ed. Fifty key thinkers on development. London: Routledge. p. 96-100.         [ Links ])

NEOCOSMOS, M. 2002. Democracy, rights discourse, national healing and state formation: theoretical reflections on the liberation transition in Southern Africa. http://nai.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?searchld=1&pid=diva2:241795 Date of access: 28 Oct. 2008.         [ Links ]

PADAYACHEE, V. 2006. Development discourse in post-apartheid South Africa. (In Padayachee, V., ed. The development decade? Economic and social change in South Africa, 1994-2004. Cape Town: HSRC. p. 1-13.         [ Links ])

PARSONS, R. 2001. Steps towards social dialogue and the development of NEDLAC in a democratic South Africa: 1979-2001. South African journal of economic history, 16:139-171, Sept.         [ Links ]

RAMPHELE, M. 2008. Laying ghost to rest: dilemmas of the transformation in South Africa. Cape Town: Tafelberg.         [ Links ]

RASMUSSEN, D.M. 1990. Reading Habermas. Cambridge: Blackwell.         [ Links ]

ROBINSON, M., & WHITE, G. 1998. Introduction. (In Robinson, M. & White, G., eds. The democratic developmental state: political and institutional design. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 1-16.         [ Links ])

ROGERS, E.M. 1976. Communication and development: critical perspectives. Beverly Hills: Sage.         [ Links ]

ROGERS, E.M. & SHOEMAKER, F.F. 1971. Communication of innovations: a cross-cultural approach. 2nd ed. New York: The Free Press.         [ Links ]

ROMAN, R. 2005. The place of theory in development communication: retrospect and prospects. (In Kalbfleisch, P.J., ed. Communication Yearbook 29. New Brunswick: Routledge. p. 311-331.         [ Links ])

ROMM, N. 1990a A critical evaluation of South African political theory. (In Alant, C., ed. Sociology and society: a humanist profile. Johannesburg: Southern Book. p. 34-40.         [ Links ])

ROMM, N. 1990b. Gouldner's reflexive methodological approach. (In Alant, C., ed. Sociology and society: a humanist profile. Johannesburg: Southern Book. p. 13-22.         [ Links ])

ROMM, N. 1990c. Berger's conception of development communication of society. (In Alant, C., ed. Sociology and society: a humanist profile. Johannesburg: Southern Book. p. 115-126.         [ Links ])

SCHRAMM, W.L. 1964. Mass media and national development: the role of information in the developing countries. Stanford: Stanford University Press.         [ Links ]

SERVAES, J. 1995. Development communication: for whom and for what? Communicatio, 21(1):39-49.         [ Links ]

SOUTH AFRICA. 1994. RDP: white paper on reconstruction and development. http://www.treasury.gov.za/publications/other/gear/all.pdf Date of access: 14 Nov. 2008.         [ Links ]

SOUTH AFRICA. 1996. Growth, employment and redistribution: a macro-economic strategy. http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=70427 Date of access: 14 Nov. 2008.         [ Links ]

SOUTH AFRICA. 2006. Background document: a catalyst for accelerated and shared growth, South Africa (ASGISA). http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/briefings/asgibackground.pdf Date of access: 14 Nov. 2008.         [ Links ]

STOREY, J.D. 1999. Popular culture, discourse, and development: rethinking entertainment-education from a participatory perspective. (In Jacobson, T.L. & Servaes, J., eds. Theoretical approaches to participatory communication. Cresskill: Hampton. p. 337-358.         [ Links ])

STRAUSS, D. 2006. The ontic interconnectedness and interdependence of language and communicative action. Communicatio, 32(1): 101-118.         [ Links ]

THE WORLD BANK. 2006. World development report 2007: development and the next generation. Washington: The World Bank.         [ Links ]

VAN DER WALT, B.J. 2007. Ontwikkelingsamewerking vir Afrika, met besondere aandag aan 'n vennootskapsverhouding. Koers, 72(3):467-501.         [ Links ]

VAVI, Z. 2008. Ten steps to a new economy. http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-09-19-ten-steps-to-a-new-economy Date of access: 21 Sept. 2008.         [ Links ]

WAISBORD, S. 2001. Family tree of theories, methodologies and strategies in development communication: convergences and differences. http://comminit.com/pdf/familytree.pdf. Date of access: 10 Oct. 2008.         [ Links ]

WHITE, S.A. 1994. Introduction - the concept of participation: transforming the participative society. (In White, S.A., Nair, K.S. & Ascroft, J., eds. Participatory communication: working for change and development. New Delhi: Sage. p.13-32.         [ Links ])

WILKINS, K.G. 2002. International development communication: proposing a research agenda for a new era. (In Gudkynst, W.B. & Mody, B., eds. Handbook of international and intercultural communication. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage. p. 537-550.         [ Links ])

ZAAIMAN, J. 2007. Power: towards a third generation definition. Koers, 72(3):357-375.         [ Links ]

ZUMA, J. 2009. Address by President Jacob Zuma in response to the debate on The Presidency Budget Vote, National Assembly. (Address addressed in parliamentary session on 24 June 2009). http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/show.asp?type=sp&include=president/sp/ 2009/sp06251427.htm&ID=1953 Date of access: 16 Feb. 2010.         [ Links ]