Sonjah Stanley Niaah is a Jamaican scholar, cultural activist, and writer. She is known for her work on dancehall, old and new Black Atlantic performance geographies, ritual, dance, festivals, cultural and creative industries, as well as popular culture and the sacred.
Sonjah Stanley Niaah | |
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| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of the West Indies |
| Thesis | Kingston's dancehall : a story of space and celebration (2004) |
Education and career
editStanley Niaah has a B.S. from the University of the West Indies (1991) and received her diploma in sociology in 1997 from the University of the West Indies. In 2004, she earned a Ph.D. in cultural studies from the University of the West Indies,[1] which made her the first Ph.D. cultural studies graduate from the University of the West Indies.[2] She was also the first to be appointed lecturer, and senior lecturer in Cultural Studies,[2] and in 2015, Stanley Niaah was named director of the Institute of Caribbean Studies and the Reggae Studies Unit.[citation needed] She is also the inaugural Rhodes Trust Rex Nettleford Fellow in Cultural Studies.[3]
Work
editStanley Niaah is a Jamaican nationalist and Caribbean regionalist at heart, she is involved in efforts to promote cultural and creative industries,[4] and speaks up for respect for all cultures.[5][6] She is an advocate for connecting education and music in Jamaica.[7] and has spoken on the actions taken by women to improve their presentation to the public.[8] Her 2010 book on Dancehall was reviewed by multiple venues,[9][10] including Caribbean Quarterly[11] and Caribbean Studies.[12] More recently, her commentary can be viewed in documentary films or film series such as Samuel L. Jackson's Enslaved and Move (Netflix).
Selected publications
edit- Stanley Niaah, Sonjah (2010). Dancehall : from slave ship to ghetto. Canadian Electronic Library. Ottawa [Ont.]: University of Ottawa Press. ISBN 978-0-7766-1905-7. OCLC 759157157.
- Stanley Niaah, Sonjah (2008-05-08). "Performance Geographies from Slave Ship to Ghetto". Space and Culture. 11 (4): 343–360. Bibcode:2008SpCul..11..343S. doi:10.1177/1206331207308334. ISSN 1206-3312. S2CID 220749640.
- Stanley-Niaah, Sonjah (2004). "Kingstons's Dancehall". Space and Culture. 7 (1): 102–118. Bibcode:2004SpCul...7..102S. doi:10.1177/1206331203257100. ISSN 1206-3312. S2CID 145093911.
- Hendrickson, Michael; Stanley Niaah, Sonjah (2018-03-26). "A study on the creative industry as a pillar of sustained growth and diversification : the film and music sectors in Jamaica : lessons from case studies of successful firms and ventures".
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References
edit- ^ Stanley Niaah, Sonjah (2004). Kingston's dancehall: a story of space and celebration (Thesis). OCLC 64122588.
- ^ a b Knight, Candiece (March 22, 2021). "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ "Inaugural Rex Nettleford Prize in Cultural Studies | Marketing and Communications Office, The University of West Indies at Mona". www.mona.uwi.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ Gardner, Claudia (2022-02-19). "Jamaican Youth Give Peter Tosh No Justice After Viral 'Equal Rights' Quiz Video". DancehallMag. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ Chappell, Kate (October 31, 2018). "Many Jamaicans bleach their skin, but few people talk about it. A dancehall star wants to change that". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ JOHNSON, RICHARD (October 12, 2021). "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ Chappell, Kate (June 18, 2019). "Economic reggae: Jamaican bank sells recovery with songs". ABC News. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ "Taking Surprising Risks For The Ideal Body". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
- ^ Hope, Donna P. (2013). "Review of Dancehall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto". NWIG: New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids. 87 (1/2): 195–197. doi:10.1163/22134360-12340031. ISSN 1382-2373. JSTOR 24713466. S2CID 162235239.
- ^ "Beyond Boundaries: Sonjah Stanley Niaah's DanceHall | Small Axe Project". smallaxe.net. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
- ^ THOMAS, DEBORAH A. (2011). "Review of Dancehall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto". Caribbean Quarterly. 57 (3/4): 123–124. ISSN 0008-6495. JSTOR 41708490.
- ^ Miranda, Katherine (2011). "Review of DanceHall: From Slaveship to Ghetto". Caribbean Studies. 39 (1/2): 276–278. ISSN 0008-6533. JSTOR 41495106.
External links
edit- Storytelling In The Tropics with Allison Harrison (2021). "Dr. Sonjah Stanley Niaah - The Culture Doctor of Kingston" (Podcast). Retrieved March 18, 2022.