about
the homegrown
research project
By realizing the „homegrown research project“ I pursue the approach of making my ethnomusicological research on Jamaica’s „reggae revival“ experiential in a multimedia way.
In 2018, as part of writing my master’s thesis in ethnomusicology at the University of Würzburg (Germany), I conducted a field research in Jamaica that included visits to relevant institutions and places for the reggae revival as well as interviews with Lila Iké and Paris Lamont, among others, and participant observations.
Back in Germany, I continued my research in the form of so-called „netnography,“ „e-fieldwork,“ or „new fieldwork“ (see also Cooley et al. 2008 and Wood 2008). This means fieldwork that includes not only the „real“, physically experienceable world, but also the Internet and thus media platforms, social networks, online surveys, forums and more.
sharing
knowledge
Ethnomusicologists depend in their work on finding people in their research field who are willing to share their knowledge, cultures, and perspectives with researchers. In order to meet this responsiveness, a presentation or sharing of the research with these “ informants“ after the research has been completed is an important step. After all, the research would not be possible without these people and their willingness.
making research
accessible
For that reason and also to make my findings and research work transparent and accessible to a wide audience, I designed this website. Here I would like to give interested people, lovers of Jamaican popular music (jpm), scholars and everyone else an insight into my research and passion.
And even if my research results can of course only be presented here as excerpts, I consider it a useful and practical addition to the academic writing. Especially for a dynamic and medial research subject like the reggae revival, the „homegrown research project“ in this form can be a stimulus for how musicological and ethnological research can be represented on another level in the age of digitality.
who am i
As a passionate follower of reggae music and culture since my youth, I had the opportunity in 2018 to examine the reggae revival movement academically as part of my studies and to combine this with a field research stay in Jamaica. Seeing the artists I had already experienced on numerous stages and whose records I had listened to up and down, now from a different perspective and even meeting them was a great experience.
After graduating from high school and a stay abroad, I first studied Cultural and Media Education at the University of Education Ludwigsburg (Germany), where I had the opportunity to shoot a Documentary about street musicians in Europe and to write my thesis about Bongo Flava – a form of Hip-Hop from Tanzania.
This was followed by a master’s degree in ethnomusicology and musicology at the University of Würzburg. In 2019, I received the „Early Career Best Paper Award“ from the German Society for Popular Music Studies for part of my thesis, which made me very proud.
Currently I’m working in music education with young people as well as in film, video and web design.
