A Broad Conceptualization of Social Change in Agritourism: An Examination of How Mobile Phone Technology Usage in Africa is Making it Possible

Abstract

This chapter examines the broad concept of social transformation in various domains, including agritourism, as well as the intricacies inherent in the process of its implementation, notably across African countries. It demonstrates within the framework of contending discourses that these complexities can be viewed more clearly in historical terms and through multiple lenses, including but not limited to: the existing spectrum of approaches to social science, primarily positivist and constructivist traditions; Karl Marx’s conceptual traction of economic determinism (1859); the New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) framework; and Communication for Development (C4D), particularly through its conception of participatory uses of media. Power relations and their obstruction to social change are a significant corollary matrix that arises from these lenses. This insight provides an important context for understanding how mobile telephony is overcoming this limitation in order to bring about societal change in African countries. It is crucial to highlight that the discussion in this chapter is based on a qualitative systematic and broad-stroke examination of the extant literature, rather than multiple, more detailed case studies on the African continent, which would be too cumbersome and, in my view, difficult to achieve. It is also important to recognize that terms such as ‘less developed environments’ and ‘states in the global south’ are used regularly in this discussion and that they are used intentionally to refer to African countries. Another phrase that is frequently used is ‘ordinary people’, which refers to those who are disenfranchised in power dynamics.