In late 2011 we are in the beginning of a revolution that may or may not turn out to be more far-reaching than the one unleashed in 1989. A common denominator in this resurging revolution is the mobilizing power of the so-called social media. Even if labels such as the Twitter or Facebook revolution are rightfully refuted, the on-going Arab Spring is a clear-cut example of an unprecedented communication power, largely out of the authorities' control.While the crucial role of media and communication in processes of social change at last becomes evident, it is however not associated with the field of communication for development and social change. While that field historically has been about developing prescriptive recipes of communication for some development, it is time attention is refocused to the deliberative, non-institutional change processes that are emerging from a citizens' profound and often desperate reaction to the global now.
This is an author produced version of a paper published in MethodologicalReflections on Rersearching Communication and Social Change. This paper has been peer-reviewed but does not include the final publisher proof-corrections or journal pagination.
An online search yields the following synonyms for the adjective convivial:(1) friendly, agreeable (a convivial atmosphere); (2) fond of feasting, drinking and merry company, jovial; and (3) of or befitting a feast, festive.Clearly, these are not the primary connotations to the concept that is currently becoming a buzz-word in academia, to the extent that one may even speak of a "convivial turn" within certain fields of the social sciences
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