Reggae Futures

Reggae Futures is a pair of reggae-focused research events over two days in London bringing together the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded Reggae Research Network and Bass Culture Research projects.

If you would like to attend one or both of these events, please register on our Eventbrite page.

There are a limited number of bursaries available for community partners, early career researchers and postgraduate students to attend. They will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and will cover transport and two nights of accommodation in London. If you would like to apply for a bursary please contact jessica.knights@uea.ac.uk for further information. The deadline to apply is the 12^th October 2017.

Reggae Futures: Day 1

2nd November 2017, 9.30 – 17.00
Senate House, London
University Of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

The Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded Reggae Research Network is the organiser of Day 1 of Reggae Futures. The network is a joint initiative between the Translating Cultures theme and the Connected Communities programme, running through 2017, for those interested in all aspects of researching reggae music. Following symposiums at the University of East Anglia (‘Scoping the Field’; January 2017) and the University of Liverpool (‘Expanding the Field’; May 2017), in this final event organisers have invited both previous speakers to build on their earlier contributions and those who have not presented before to explore new topics. As the first event open to a wider audience outside of the network, our intention is to open the conversation around the future of reggae research and to both celebrate and interrogate the plethora of work being carried out in this area.

Dr Sonjah Stanley Niaah, Director of the Reggae Studies Unit at the University of the West Indies, will be the providing the keynote for the day. Other confirmed speakers include Professor Paul Gilroy, and the organisers of the 2017 Jamaica Jamaica! exhibition at the Philharmonie de Paris, Sébastien Carayol and Thomas Vendryes.

Reggae Futures: Day 2

3rd November 2017, 9.30 – 17.00
Regent Street Cinema, London
University of Westminster, 307 Regent St, London W1B 2HW

Day 2 of Reggae Futures is being organised by Bass Culture Research, a three-year Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded project investigating the impact of Jamaican and Jamaican influenced music on Britain – musically, socially, culturally. As hosts of Day 2 of Reggae Futures, Bass Culture will mark the mid-way point of their research with a series of presentations from individuals that demonstrate the grassroots energy and activity within the subject area. Beyond the academic community amateurs, fans and artists are busy writing books, making films, organising personal archives. It’s an exciting period and it suggests that Reggae Futures are bright. The day will also include panel discussions on women in Bass Culture, and on the economics of Bass Culture. Our aim is to engage the community in a welcoming, accessible space and share our activity to date and our ambitions for the future of the subject area.

Please contact Jessica Knights, Connected Communities administrator, at jessica.knights@uea.ac.uk for more information.