Die lateinamerikanische Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft zwischen ideologischer Prägung und begrenzter Internationalisierung: Zeit für Selbstkritik

Abstract

During the last three decades, Media and Communication Studies experienced a theoretical and empirical stagnation in Latin America, which requires a self-criticism from the Latin American Scientific Community. The reasons for this standstill are manifold: On the one hand, the ideological imprinting of the discipline in the region often leads to the rejection of North American theories and authors. On the other hand, there is only a limited internationalization of Media and Communication Studies in Latin America, which is linked to problems in “De-Westernizing” the discipline and the conditions for academic research in the region. The academic field suffers of funding shortage. Despite these barriers, the Latin American tradition can enhance global Media and Communication Studies: Latin American scholars can show their Western colleagues the importance of political and social commitment. Moreover, the critical tradition, of which Latin Ameri-can scholars are so proud, is still needed in order to analyze current social and media phenomena.