Publishing world Christianity locally and globally : opportunities and ethics

Abstract

Publishing on World Christianity depends heavily on research completed in the Global South. Yet making the fruits of such research available to Global South communities through accessible publications has proved to be challenging. Either such scholarship is published in the Global North and rarely returned to the countries of origin, or scholarship is published within the country, but rarely makes it beyond its borders. One attempt to address this challenge is the work of the Kachere Series and Mzuni Press in Malawi. A striking example is The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian 1924–2024: A Centenary Assessment, edited by Kenneth R. Ross and Mwawi N. Chilongozi and published by Mzuni Press in 2024. Through co-publication arrangements, it has a print edition widely available in Malawi, another print edition available in the southern African region, a print-on-demand edition available in the Global North and an open access edition available worldwide. Taking inspiration from this example, we explore in this article ways and means by which research originating in the Global South can be published so as to become available to the communities from which it arises.