Epistemic Asymmetries: Rethinking Culture, Theory, and Method From the South

Epistemic Asymmetries: Rethinking Culture, Theory, and Method From the SouthTo study communication from the South is to do so in translation.Communication scholars from the Global South translate experience, method, and theory into grammars not built for us.The question is no longer whether decolonization is possible within the field, but rather, how one inhabits the field's ongoing asymmetries while continuing to theorize from within them.That this conversation remains necessary speaks to the depth of colonial epistemic hierarchies that continue to shape communication and media scholarship.This essay therefore contributes to ongoing debates about decolonizing communication scholarship, not as a slogan or a "vibe" (Bosch, 2025) but as a situated practice of doing research.The essay reflects on what it means to pursue research on culture, identity, and politics from the South while engaging a research culture still largely oriented toward Northern epistemologies.These reflections begin from my own position as a scholar working within an African institution but engaging global scholarly networks, where the politics of citation, collaboration, and recognition remain profoundly uneven.The discussion that follows is organized around three interconnected arenas where these asymmetries are most visible: the methodological and ethical dimensions of research practice, the institutional and epistemic structures that condition scholarly work, and the publishing ecosystems that determine whose knowledge circulates most broadly.These themes signal the uneven conditions under which Southern scholars pursue, articulate, and publish their work in a field still structured around Northern norms.These reflections also gesture toward the broader argument of this commentary: the need for a more plural and interconnected scholarly commons.