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Prof
Sonjah
Stanley Niaah

Title: 
Professor of Cultural Studies & Director, Centre for Reparation Research
Education: 
PhD. Cultural Studies, Institute of Caribbean Studies, UWI, Mona Thesis title: “Kingston’s Dancehall: A Story of Space and Celebration”.
Diploma, Sociology (Social Psychology concentration), UWI, Mona
B.A. (Hons.) Geography (Geology minor), UWI, Mona
Email: 
sonjah.stanley@uwimona.edu.jm
Number: 
876-977-1951
876-970-6228

Overview

office: 
Centre for Reparation Research, Regional Headquaters,UWI

Professor Sonjah Stanley Niaah is a Jamaican scholar, international speaker and Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at The University of the West Indies’ Mona Campus where she was Director of the Institute of Caribbean Studies (2015-2021). She is a leading author, teacher and researcher on Black Atlantic performance geographies, popular culture, and the sacred, and Caribbean Cultural Studies more broadly. She holds international appointments as member of the International Scientific Committee of the Slave Route Project (UNESCO), Senior Research Associate (honorary), Rhodes University, and Advisor, International Cultural Diversity Organisation. She is the author of numerous publications among them the acclaimed Dancehall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto (2010) and editor of Dancehall: A Reader on Jamaican Music and Culture (2020) among others. Her research and opinions have appeared in various media, among them Netflix, The Guardian, BBC, The Washington Post, NPR, The Fader and Pop Matters. In 2019 she introduced the Sound Culture book series at the UWI Press which is dedicated to publishing original work on Caribbean music. She currenlty serves as Director, Centre for Reparation Research, The UWI.

Fellowships and Training: 
2009 Mona Research Fellowship for completion of ‘Reggae Festival Geographies and Economies’ project (value approximately JA$2.9m - tenable academic year 2010/11)
2005 Rhodes Trust / Rex Nettleford Fellowship in Cultural Studies (July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2006). Selected from a shortlist of five Caribbean nationals in May 2005 to complete comparative research on Jamaican Dancehall and South African Kwaito spaces and
Research Interests: 
cultural studies, performance studies, performance geography, Black Atlantic, popular music, dancehall culture, reparatory justice, entertainment policy
Professional Experience: 
Deputy Dean, Marketing and Resource Mobilisation, Faculty of Humanities & Education
Director, Institute of Caribbean Studies & Reggae Studies Unit
Project Lead/UWI Focal Point, Mapping, Research and Development of an Enabling Cultural and Creative Industries Environment, Creative Caribbean Project, UNESCO/CARICOM/UWI
Cultural Advisor, National Commission on Violence Prevention, Office of the Prime Minister, Jamaica
Consultant, Development of a Business Plan for the Diversification of the Shopping Experience at Old Fort Bay Craft Market, Montego Bay, Tourism Enhancement Fund
Consultant, Sonic Street Technology (SST) Research – Jamaica, ERC Funded (Principal SST Consultant -Julian Henriques, Goldsmiths, University of London)
Project Coordinator on Prison to College Jamaica project, UWI/CUNY/Ministry of National Security
Consultant on UNECLAC/UWI study on success factors in the music and film sectors – Jamaica
Consultant / Coordinator for JACAP/CDB project on capacity building for the Business of Music, including four multi-day workshops on Women in Music, Fundamentals of Music, Managing Songwriters Rights and Accessing International Markets Workshops over the
Consultant on Secondment to JAMPRO for enhancement of work in the Creative Industries Unit with responsibility for advancing the State of the Music Initiative, and other agendas around creative industries including the inaugural Jamaica Film Festival 2015
Honours and Awards: 
Principal’s Research Award for the ‘Research Project Attracting the Most Funds’ – ‘Creative Caribbean: An Ecosystem of Play and Development’ (UNESCO, UWI, CARICOM), funded by the ACP-EU at Euros 3,000,000.00.
Principal’s Research Award for Best Publication – Book (Dancehall: From Slave Ship to Ghetto, University of Ottawa Press, 2010)
Public Service: 
Host, panel discussion on ‘Mobilising Brand Jamaica’ as part of Bentley University/University of the West Indies Jamaica Journeys course, Bob Marley Museum, May 20, 2025
Moderator, Clash Culture: Recap/Revamp panel, Island Music Conference, Courtleigh Auditorium, February 19, 2025
Interviewee, ‘Grammy 2025 Aftermath’, TVJ Entertainment Report , February 7, 2025
Cultural Expert, ‘No surprise’ at Marley ‘One Love’ Reggae Grammy win’ Jamaica Star https://jamaica-star.com/article/entertainment/20250203/%E2%80%98no-surprise%E2%80%99-marley-%E2%80%98one-love%E2%80%99-reggae-grammy-win February 3, 2025
Interviewee, Marcus Garvey Pardoned, All Angles, January 22, 2025
Interviewee, ‘Teach Garvey in Schools: Lecturer Wants Hero’s Legacy Preserved through Education’, Jamaica Star, January 20, 2025
Interviewee, Marcus Garvey Pardoned, Smile Jamaica, January 20, 2025
Moderator – panel on ‘Maroon Legacies and Impact on Contemporary Jamaican & Caribbean Culture’, Maroons of Jamaica: Our Legacies, Telling our own Truths, Symposium, CARICOM Reparation Commission, Maroon Communities of Jamaica, Centre for Reparation Rese
Moderator / Co-chair, Faculty of Humanities and Education Alumni Town Hall, December 5, 2024 (Virtual)
Chair / Moderator, ‘Cyberculture in Schools’ Teachers’ Workshop, Institute of Caribbean Studies, November 29, 2024 (Virtual)
Courses Taught: 
JUST6003 – Psychohistoriography and Reparatory Justice
CLTR6000 – Theory and Conceptualisation of Culture
CLTR6100 – Methods of Inquiry in Cultural Studies
CLTR6230 – Caribbean Popular and Creative Culture
CLTR6030/AR630 – Dynamics of Caribbean Culture
CLTR6500/AR65A – Research Methodology for Cultural Practitioners
MUSC3300 – Bob Marley and His Music
CLTR3508 – Issues in Caribbean Cyberculture
CLTR1001/AR10A – Introduction to the Study of Culture
SOCO2020/SY27D – Identity and Conduct in Jamaican Dancehall
Grants: 
2018 European Union, funds granted for ‘A New Jamaican Justice Era: Consolidating Community Access and Alternative Justice for the Protection of All’ project over 24 months, in collaboration with the Institute for Gender and Development Studies and Centre
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