ENTITY · ARCHIVE
UWI Reggae Studies Unit
Well supported
The Reggae Studies Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona — the scholarly home of Jamaican popular music study, running research, publications and conferences. It is the main academic counterweight to a history otherwise held in private collections, tape libraries and memory.
At a glance
- Type
- archive →
- Confidence
- Well supported
Coverage areas
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Connections
Debate & reception
How people argued about the music — praise, criticism and public debate. See all debate & reception →
debate
Should the academy study dancehall?
A neutral account of the debate sparked by dancehall scholarship: academic study is defended as overdue validation of a maligned folk expression, and criticised by some as 'elevating vulgarity'. The atlas records the disagreement without endorsing either view. Sources: Carolyn Cooper, Noises in the Blood; Small Axe / sx salon; Jamaica Gleaner/Observer commentary.
Stance: scholarship validating a maligned folk expression vs 'elevating vulgarity' critique