Sakawa indexes a cyberfraud practice in Ghana allegedly linked with occult rituals. This article examines the phenomenon as an analytically relevant example of a material understanding of religion. It then offers a critical reading of a popular sakawa video series and contrasts its thematic perspectives with the reactions of some Ghanaian political leaders to the possible motivations for the practice. This critical approach is conceived as a response to the persistent myopic view of such popular genres as irrelevant to key debates around problematic Ghanaian issues and also to calls in global media studies to de-Westernize the field.Résumé: Les rituels Sakawa indiquent une pratique de la cyber-fraude au Ghana qui serait liée à des rituels occultes. Cet article examine le phénomène comme un exemple analytique pertinent d'une interprétation matérielle de la religion. Il propose ensuite une lecture critique de la série populaire vidéo appelée Sakawa et contraste ses perspectives thématiques avec les réactions de certains dirigeants politiques ghanéens aux motivations possibles pour cette pratique. Cette approche critique est conçue comme une réponse à la perspective myope persistante que ces genres populaires ne sont pas pertinents pour les débats sur les problématiques ghanéennes, et aussi comme une réponse aux incitations des études sur les médias globaux à désoccidentaliser le domaine de recherche.
Communication scholars' early interest in the function of silence in human interactions produces di¤erent theorizations about the phenomenon. Contemporary interest is evidenced in a plethora of research exploring di¤erent domains of how silence is utilized in human interaction. Despite the sustained interest in the function of silence in human communication, there is a paucity of research examining how intimate partners use silence as a conflict-management strategy. Consequently, there is an impoverished understanding on how such couples manage their marital conflicts using silence. This study thus investigates how married couples use silence as a conflict management strategy in their relationships. Using a qualitative paradigm -specifically the semiotic phenomenological perspective -and analyzing the research data through Lanigan's three-step methodology, I discover participants' experiences with silence in conflict situations with their spouses. The analysis reveals four themes that describe the experiences of married couples using silence as conflict-management tactic. Discussion of the themes reveals important findings as to how participants use silence in three ways to manage the inevitable conflicts that arise within their relationships.
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