Tuesday 4 June 2013

Time to Talk



Hallowed be thy Grime? : A musicological and sociological genealogy of Grime music and its relation to black Atlantic religious discourse’ 

In the 90's we had jungle whereas now Dizzee Rascal, Tinie Tempah,Tinchy Strider, Scorcher. Dot Rotten and other young black musicians have infiltrated the Top Ten with what's called 'Grime'. What is Grime ? Is it still black music ? Do teenagers see any black history in the beats, is there any ? How is Grime connected to religion and the concept of the African cultural transmission across the Atlantic over the last 500 years ? Where's the black history in black British youth culture ?

Admission free if booked via eventbrite (location info in link):

http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/event/6796385171


This presentation by Phd candidate Monique Charles 

About the presenter - 

http://iamyaaya.blogspot.co.uk/p/interview-bios.html#monique-charles


http://warwick.academia.edu/MoniqueCharles

Saturday 1 June 2013

Creatively cognisant

I don't blog much... but that is stating the obvious...

I have been working away producing my upgrade document, which in effect I pulled together in a year as a part time student, with a full time job. I recently had my interview and I am really hoping I have done enough.

Since last blogging, I have made some strides forward. I have joined a black women in academia group; this has been a lifeline for me in some respects because a PhD is definitely the 'self-imposed exile' I was warned about and pushing the idea of a study that focuses on a 'Black British' perspective in an academic capacity produces its own challenges.

Despite this however, I push forward. I was fortunate enough to guest lecture on contextualising Grime in March for level 5 (2nd year) undergraduates at Canterbury University. I contributed towards a final year dissertation on Grime for a student from City University. I was fortunate enough to have been offered a platform to be a role model in the Yaaya project. Lastly, I have been given two more opportunities in the near future to present aspects of my research. Slowly but surely I am establishing myself as a serious academic and my work online has consistently been accessed from around the world since being uploaded about 3 years ago... I just have to keep chipping away...