Sawubona Philosophy of African Communication (SPAC)

In this chapter we offer one provisional response to the imperative to theorize African communication that is attentive to the concerns of postcolonial and epistemic injustice. Specifically, we offer a philosophy of African communication—which we are provisionally calling the Sawubona Philosophy of African Communication (SPAC)—grounded in, for, and from the lifeworld of African communities. Sawubona is a greeting among the isiZulu of South Africa which literary means “We see you.” SPAC is a theoretical perspective of African communication grounded in African epistemologies that uphold and value the ideals of interconnectedness, interdependence, and mutual respect.