Sonjah Stanley Niaah

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Sonjah Stanley Niaah
Sonjah Stanley Niaah.jpg
Academic background
Alma mater University of the West Indies
Thesis Kingston's dancehall : a story of space and celebration  (2004)

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.

Contents

Education and career

Stanley Niaah holds a B.A. in Geography from the University of the West Indies (1991), a diploma in Sociology (1997) and a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from the University of the West Indies (2004), [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, senior lecturer and professor in Cultural Studies, [2] and in 2015, Stanley Niaah was appointed 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] Stanley Niaah is the current Director of the Centre for Reparation Research at the UWI.

Work

Stanley 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

References

  1. Stanley Niaah, Sonjah (2004). Kingston's dancehall: a story of space and celebration (Thesis). OCLC   64122588.
  2. 1 2 Knight, Candiece (March 22, 2021). "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  3. "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.
  4. Gardner, Claudia (2022-02-19). "Jamaican Youth Give Peter Tosh No Justice After Viral 'Equal Rights' Quiz Video". DancehallMag. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  5. 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.
  6. JOHNSON, RICHARD (October 12, 2021). "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  7. Chappell, Kate (June 18, 2019). "Economic reggae: Jamaican bank sells recovery with songs". ABC News. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  8. "Taking Surprising Risks For The Ideal Body". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
  9. 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.
  10. "Beyond Boundaries: Sonjah Stanley Niaah's DanceHall | Small Axe Project". smallaxe.net. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  11. THOMAS, DEBORAH A. (2011). "Review of Dancehall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto". Caribbean Quarterly. 57 (3/4): 123–124. ISSN   0008-6495. JSTOR   41708490.
  12. Miranda, Katherine (2011). "Review of DanceHall: From Slaveship to Ghetto". Caribbean Studies. 39 (1/2): 276–278. ISSN   0008-6533. JSTOR   41495106.