Connective Action for Global Fairness: Building Social Imaginaries

Authors

  • Veronica Yepez-Reyes Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/hjlcb.v0i58.111686

Keywords:

connective action; communication for social change (CFSC); social imaginaries; global fairness; advocacy; digital interaction

Abstract

Social imaginaries are frameworks within which people organise their collective world; where imagination, not simply reason, plays a part in the construction of social practices. Through a grounded theory approach, this article asks whether and how social imaginaries of global fairness are present in connective action, a type of digital interaction for advocacy. From January 2014 to June 2015, the study followed the Facebook accounts of five advocacy organisations: Hivos, Oxfam IBIS, Intermon-Oxfam, SSNC and Vredeseilanden. Connective action, more than just accomplishing an expressing function of posting and sharing – which could be considered as ‘slacktivism’– denotes cooperating and acting by means of dialogic learning involving reflection and action. The research suggests that current social imaginaries may be built in connective action involving topics of nature conservation, equality, eco-farming, among others. Thus, the field of connective action remains open to theorizing how these imaginaries could constitute a strong foundation upon which communication for social change (CFSC) strategies may be grounded.

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Published

2018-12-22

How to Cite

Yepez-Reyes, V. (2018). Connective Action for Global Fairness: Building Social Imaginaries. HERMES - Journal of Language and Communication in Business, (58), 215–230. https://doi.org/10.7146/hjlcb.v0i58.111686

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