Date of Award
5-2007
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Program
History
Department
History
Major Professor
Mitchell, Mary N.
Second Advisor
Atkinson, Connie
Third Advisor
Cassimere, Raphael
Abstract
The story of Jamaican music is also one of the island's journey from independence, the rise of nationalism and changes in its political structure in the Cold War era. Reggae as a popular form, developed in the context of Jamaica's history of colonialism and slavery, as well as the island's development as an independent nation within the African Diaspora. Michael Manley's policy of democratic socialism leading to U.S. intervention to destabilize his government in the mid-1970s and the installation of the pro-American Edward Seaga, in 1980, led to considerable changes in Jamaican political culture and nationalism. Inextricable from changes in the nation's political culture, however, were changes in its popular culture, namely, the transition in popular music from reggae to what became known as "dancehall." The history of reggae and the rise of dancehall in the period from 1974 to 1984 this thesis argues, was integral to the transformation of Jamaican nationalism and politics in the decades following independence.
Recommended Citation
Banton, Caree, "Between Two Giant Sounds: Jamaican Politics, Nationalism, and Musical Culture in Transition, 1974-1984" (2007). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 508.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/508
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.