Trends in Development Communication Theories Over the Last 50 Years

Discussions on development communication theories have gone through several paradigmatic shifts in the past 50 years. From the modernization and the growth theory, dependency approach and the participatory model,the new trends in the discourse of development communication theories are characterized by a turn towards local communities as target for research and debates. Despite the significant progress in theorizing the practices and practicing the theories, many scholars in development communication observe that the old problems of poverty, inequality and disease persist in many developing nations. The aim of this book is to provide a synthesis of the debates regarding paradigms, theories/models and policies of development communication, over the last 50 years, with emphasis on the current dominant recommendations. The influence of the media in theorizing development communication; the application of these theories in health communication and the question of gender, power and inequalities in development, are also critically examined in this book.