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{{Short description|Jamaican literary scholar and writer (born 1950)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2012}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Use Jamaican English|date=March 2012}}
{{Use Jamaican English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox writer
{{Infobox writer
| name = Carolyn Cooper
| name = Carolyn Cooper
| honorific-suffix = [[Order of Distinction|CD]]
| image =
| image =
| imagesize =
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| birth_name = Carolyn Joy Cooper
| birth_name = Carolyn Joy Cooper
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1950|11|20}}
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1950|11|20}}
| birth_place = [[Kingston, Jamaica]]
| birth_place = [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], [[Colony of Jamaica]], British Empire
| death_date =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_place =
| occupation =
| occupation = Author, literary scholar, columnist, TV host
| nationality =
| ethnicity =
| citizenship =
| education =
| education =
| alma_mater = [[University of the West Indies]], [[Mona, Jamaica]]<br>[[University of Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| alma_mater = [[University of the West Indies]], [[Mona, Jamaica]]<br>[[University of Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
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| signature =
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| website = {{URL|http://carolynjoycooper.wordpress.com/}}
| website = {{URL|https://carolynjoycooper.wordpress.com}}
| portaldisp =
| portaldisp =
}}
}}
'''Carolyn Cooper''' [[Order of Distinction|CD]] (born 20 November 1950)<ref>[https://www.mona.uwi.edu/library/professor-carolyn-cooper "Professor Carolyn Cooper"], The Library, The University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica.</ref> is a Jamaican author and literary scholar. She is a professor of Literary and Cultural Studies at the [[UWI|University of the West Indies]], [[Mona, Jamaica]]. From 1975 to 1980, she was an assistant professor at [[Atlantic Union College]] in [[South Lancaster, Massachusetts]]. She was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Literatures in English at the University of the West Indies in 1980.
'''Carolyn Cooper''' [[Order of Distinction|CD]] (born 20 November 1950)<ref>[https://www.mona.uwi.edu/library/professor-carolyn-cooper "Professor Carolyn Cooper"], The Library, The University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica.</ref> is a Jamaican author, essayist and literary scholar. She is a former professor of Literary and Cultural Studies at the [[UWI|University of the West Indies]], [[Mona, Jamaica]]. From 1975 to 1980, she was an assistant professor at [[Atlantic Union College]] in [[South Lancaster, Massachusetts]]. In 1980, she was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Literatures in English at the University of the West Indies (UWI), where she continued to work until her retirement as a professor in 2017. Also a newspaper journalist, Cooper writes a weekly column for the ''[[Sunday Gleaner]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20210103/carolyn-cooper-banking-cubas-coronavirus-vaccines|title=Banking on Cuba's Coronavirus Vaccines|first=Carolyn|last=Cooper|newspaper=Sunday Gleaner|date=3 January 2021}}</ref>


==Biography==
==Biography==
===Early years and education ===
Carolyn Joy Cooper<ref name=gov>[http://www.jis.gov.jm/docs/Hons%20&%20Awards%20Gl.%202013%20.pdf National Honours and Awards]{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Office of the Prime Minister, Jamaica.</ref> was born in 1950 in [[Kingston, Jamaica]], to parents who were members of the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]].<ref name="Dawes" />
Carolyn Joy Cooper<ref name=gov>{{cite web|url=https://jis.gov.jm/media/Hons-Awards-Gl-2013-.pdf |title=National Honours and Awards]|publisher= Office of the Prime Minister|location= Jamaica|date=6 August 2013|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref> was born in 1950 in [[Kingston, Jamaica]], to parents who were members of the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]].<ref name="Dawes">{{cite web|url=http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030909/mind/mind1.html |title=Carolyn Cooper, I'm a bald head Rasta |last=Dawes |first=Mark |date=9 September 2003 |work=[[Jamaica Gleaner]] |access-date=6 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812005109/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030909/mind/mind1.html |archive-date=12 August 2011}}</ref> She attended [[St Hugh's High School]] in Kingston.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-09-23 |title=Five ladies in academia |url=https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/all-woman/five-ladies-in-academia/ |access-date=2023-09-08 |website=Jamaica Observer |language=en-US}}</ref>


In 1968 she was awarded the Jamaica Scholarship (Girls). She attended the University of the West Indies, Mona, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English (B.A. English) in 1971. She was awarded a [[Canadian International Development Agency]] fellowship to the [[University of Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada, in 1971 to study for her master's degree in English, which was followed by the completion of her Ph.D. at the same institution in 1977.<ref name="Dawes">{{cite web|url=http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030909/mind/mind1.html |title=Carolyn Cooper, I'm a bald head Rasta |last=Dawes |first=Mark |date=9 September 2003 |work=[[Jamaica Gleaner]] |accessdate=6 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812005109/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030909/mind/mind1.html |archivedate=12 August 2011 |df=dmy }}</ref>
In 1968, she was awarded the Jamaica Scholarship (Girls). She attended the [[University of the West Indies, Mona]], graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English (B.A. English) in 1971. She was awarded a [[Canadian International Development Agency]] fellowship to the [[University of Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada, in 1971 to study for her master's degree in English, which was followed by the completion of her PhD at the same institution in 1977.<ref name=CSA>{{cite web|url=https://www.caribbeanstudiesassociation.org/carolyn-cooper/|title=Carolyn Cooper|website=Caribbean Studies Association|access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>


=== Academic career ===
She was instrumental in establishing in 1994 the Reggae Studies Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona, which has hosted numerous public lectures and symposiums featuring reggae/dancehall artists and other practitioners in the music industry in Jamaica and internationally such as [[Lady Saw]], [[Vybz Kartel]], [[Bounty Killer]], [[Tony Rebel]], [[Ninjaman]], Louise Frazer-Bennett, Christine Hewett, [[Tanya Stephens]], [[Gentleman (musician)|Gentleman]] and [[Queen Ifrica]]. Professor Cooper founded the annual Bob Marley Lecture in 1997. The Reggae Studies Unit has also convened academic conferences, including in 2008 the Global Reggae Conference,<ref name=Dartmouth>[http://www.dartmouth.edu/~lhc/events/2009/cooper.html Carolyn Cooper biography], The Leslie Center for the Humanities, Dartmouth College.</ref> the plenary papers for which are collected in ''Global Reggae'' (2012), edited by Cooper and published by the [[University of the West Indies Press]]. With Dr Eleanor Wint, Cooper co-edited ''Bob Marley: The Man and His Music'' (2003), a selection of papers presented at the 1995 symposium that marked the reggae icon's 50th birthday.


In 1980, Cooper was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Literatures in English at the University of the West Indies, where she taught courses on Caribbean, African-American and African literature, as well as popular culture.<ref name=CSA />
Cooper is also the author of the books ''Noises in the Blood: Orality, Gender and the "Vulgar" Body of Jamaican Popular Culture'' (1993) and ''Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large'' (2004).


She was instrumental in establishing in 1994 the Reggae Studies Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona, which has hosted numerous public lectures and symposiums featuring reggae/dancehall artists and other practitioners in the music industry in Jamaica and internationally such as [[Lady Saw]], [[Vybz Kartel]], [[Bounty Killer]], [[Tony Rebel]], [[Ninjaman]], Louise Frazer-Bennett, Christine Hewett, [[Tanya Stephens]], [[Gentleman (musician)|Gentleman]] and [[Queen Ifrica]].
A well-known media personality in Jamaica, Cooper is a weekly columnist for the ''[[Sunday Gleaner]]''. In the 1990s, she co-hosted a television show, ''Man and Woman Story'', with Dr Leahcim Semaj for the [[Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation]].<ref name=Dartmouth /> She also co-hosted a public affairs program, ''Question Time'' on CVM television, and, more recently, ''Big People Sup'm'' on PBC Jamaica.


Cooper founded the annual Bob Marley Lecture in 1997. The Reggae Studies Unit has also convened academic conferences, including in 2008 the Global Reggae Conference,<ref name=Dartmouth>[http://www.dartmouth.edu/~lhc/events/2009/cooper.html Carolyn Cooper biography], The Leslie Center for the Humanities, Dartmouth College.</ref> the plenary papers for which are collected in ''Global Reggae''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20220424/carolyn-cooper-jamaicans-do-not-own-reggae|title=Jamaicans do not own reggae
==Honours and recognition==
The ''[[Jamaica Gleaner]]'' listed Carolyn Cooper as sixth in their list of "The 10 Best-Dressed Men & Women Of 2011".<ref>[http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120205/out/out8.html "The 10 Best-Dressed Men & Women Of 2011"], ''The Gleaner'', 5 February 2012.</ref>


|first=Carolyn|last=Cooper|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=30 April 2022}}</ref> (2012), edited by Cooper and published by the [[University of the West Indies Press]]. With Dr Eleanor Wint, Cooper co-edited ''Bob Marley: The Man and His Music'' (2003), a selection of papers presented at the 1995 symposium that marked the reggae icon's 50th birthday.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jamaicans.com/bobmanmusicbk/|title=Book Review – Bob Marley: The Man And His Music|website=Jamaicans.com|date=24 May 2005 |access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>
On 6 August 2013, Jamaica's 51st [[Independence of Jamaica|Independence Day]], Professor Carolyn Cooper was awarded the national honour of the [[Order of Distinction]] in the rank of Commander (CD) "for outstanding contribution to Education".<ref name=gov /><ref>[http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130807/ent/ent1.html "The Arts Play Big Part In This Year's National Honours"], ''The Gleaner'', 7 August 2013.</ref>


In 2017, Cooper retired from being professor of literary and cultural studies at UWI.<ref name="Repeating Islands - Retirement celebration">{{cite web|url=https://repeatingislands.com/2017/03/21/retirement-celebration-for-professor-carolyn-cooper/|title=Retirement Celebration for Professor Carolyn Cooper|website=Repeating Islands|date=21 March 2017|access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref> Selected presentations by her are held at UWI Archives.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uwiarchives.wordpress.com/2018/03/08/celebrating-two-of-our-stalwarts/|title=Celebrating Two of Our Stalwarts|website=UWI Archives|date=8 March 2018|access-date=13 November 2022}}</ref>
==Bibliography==
* (editor) ''Global Reggae'', 2012
* ''Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large'', 2004
* (with Eleanor Wint, eds) ''Bob Marley: The Man and His Music'', 2003
* ''Noises In The Blood: Orality, Gender and the "Vulgar" Body of Jamaican Popular Culture'', 1995


=== Writing and media work ===
==Selected articles==

* "Enslaved In Stereotypes: Race and Representation in Post-independence Jamaica", ''[[Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism|Small Axe]]'', 16, 2004, pp.&nbsp;154–169.
Cooper is the author of the books ''Noises in the Blood: Orality, Gender and the "Vulgar" Body of Jamaican Popular Culture'' (1993) and ''Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large'' (2004), as well as numerous articles, book chapters, conference presentations and plenary lectures.
* "Punany Powah", ''Black Media Journal'', 2, 2000, pp.&nbsp;50–52.

* "'West Indies plight': Louise Bennett and The Cultural Politics of Federation", ''Social and Economic Studies'', 48, 1999, pp.&nbsp;211–228.
A well-known media personality in Jamaica, she is a weekly columnist for the ''[[Sunday Gleaner]]''. In the 1990s, she co-hosted a television show, ''Man and Woman Story,'' with Dr Leahcim Semaj for the [[Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation]].<ref name=Dartmouth /> She also co-hosted a public affairs programme, ''Question Time'' on [[CVM Television]], and, more recently, ''Big People Sup'm'' on PBC Jamaica.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20160529/carolyn-cooper-big-kph-emergency-department|title=Big up, KPH Emergency Department!|first=Carolyn|last=Cooper|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=27 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="Repeating Islands - Retirement celebration" />
* "Ragamuffin sounds: Crossing over from reggae to rap and back", ''Caribbean Quarterly'', Vol. 44, nos 1 & 2, 1998, pp.&nbsp;153–168.

* "Race and the Cultural Politics of Self-representation: A View from the University of the West Indies", ''[[Research in African Literatures]]'', 27, 1996, pp.&nbsp;97–105.
Cooper is a contributor to the 2019 anthology ''[[Daughters of Africa#New Daughters of Africa|New Daughters of Africa]]'', edited by [[Margaret Busby]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/2a4e64a8-508a-11e9-8f44-fe4a86c48b33|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211231215/https://www.ft.com/content/2a4e64a8-508a-11e9-8f44-fe4a86c48b33|archive-date=11 December 2022|url-access=subscription|url-status=live|authorlink=Imani Perry|first=Imani|last=Perry|title=New Daughters of Africa – a new anthology of a groundbreaking book|newspaper=Financial Times|date=29 March 2019|access-date=13 October 2020}}</ref>
* "Lyrical Gun: Metaphor and Role Play in Jamaican Dancehall Culture", ''[[The Massachusetts Review]]'', Vol. 35, Issues 3 & 4, 1994, pp.&nbsp;429–447.

==Selected works==
=== Books ===
* ''Noises in the Blood: Orality, Gender and the "Vulgar" Body of Jamaican Popular Culture'' (1995)
* ''Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large'' (2004)

=== Books edited by Cooper ===
* ''Bob Marley: The Man and His Music'' (2003), with Eleanor Wint
* ''Global Reggae'' (2012)

===Articles===
* "Loosely talking theory: Oral/Sexual Discourse in Jamaican Popular Culture", ''The CRNLE Reviews Journal'', 1, 1994, pp.&nbsp;62–73.
* "Loosely talking theory: Oral/Sexual Discourse in Jamaican Popular Culture", ''The CRNLE Reviews Journal'', 1, 1994, pp.&nbsp;62–73.
* "Lyrical Gun: Metaphor and Role Play in Jamaican Dancehall Culture", ''[[The Massachusetts Review]]'', Vol. 35, Issues 3 & 4, 1994, pp.&nbsp;429–447.
* "Race and the Cultural Politics of Self-representation: A View from the University of the West Indies", ''[[Research in African Literatures]],'' 27, 1996, pp.&nbsp;97–105.
* "Ragamuffin sounds: Crossing over from reggae to rap and back", ''[[Caribbean Quarterly]]'', Vol. 44, nos 1 & 2, 1998, pp.&nbsp;153–168.
* {{"'}}West Indies plight': Louise Bennett and The Cultural Politics of Federation", ''Social and Economic Studies'', 48, 1999, pp.&nbsp;211–228.
* "Punany Powah", ''Black Media Journal'', 2, 2000, pp.&nbsp;50–52.
* "Enslaved in Stereotypes: Race and Representation in Post-independence Jamaica", ''[[Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism|Small Axe]],'' 16, 2004, pp.&nbsp;154–169.
* "Not Even One Token Woman!", ''[[Stabroek News]]'', 21 February 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2011/02/21/features/in-the-diaspora/not-even-one-token-woman/|title=Not Even One Token Woman!|first=Carolyn|last=Cooper|newspaper=Stabroek News|date=21 February 2011}}</ref>
* "Another milestone on KC's journey", ''The Gleaner'', 1 June 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20180603/carolyn-cooper-another-milestone-kcs-journey|title=Another milestone on KC's journey|first=Carolyn|last=Cooper|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=1 June 2018}}</ref>
* "UWI celebrates 50-plus years of teaching fi wi literature", ''The Gleaner'', 6 June 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20210606/carolyn-cooper-uwi-celebrates-50-plus-years-teaching-fi-wi-literature|first=Carolyn|last=Cooper|title=UWI celebrates 50-plus years of teaching fi wi literature|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=6 June 2021}}</ref>
* "King Charles must rise above impotent talk of 'sorrow' for slavery", ''[[openDemocracy]]'', 3 May 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/king-charles-iii-coronation-caribbean-jamaica-carolyn-cooper/|title=King Charles must rise above impotent talk of 'sorrow' for slavery|website=openDemocracy|first=Carolyn|last=Cooper|date=3 May 2023|access-date=21 June 2024}}</ref>
* "Butchering 'di patwah daktah' in defence of English", ''The Gleaner'', 11 February 2024.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20240211/carolyn-cooper-butchering-di-patwah-daktah-defence-english|title=Butchering 'di patwah daktah' in defence of English|newspaper=The Gleaner|first=Carolyn|last=Cooper|date=11 February 2024}}</ref>
* "Kingsley Cooper, one man wid vision", ''The Gleaner'', 23 June 2024.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20240623/carolyn-cooper-kingsley-cooper-one-man-wid-vision|title=Kingsley Cooper, one man wid vision|newspaper=The Gleaner|first=Carolyn|last=Cooper|date=23 June 2024}}</ref>


==Awards==
==Awards==
* [[Association of Commonwealth Universities]] Academic Exchange Fellow, [[University of the South Pacific]], [[Fiji]], September–October 1993
* [[Association of Commonwealth Universities]] Academic Exchange Fellow, [[University of the South Pacific]], [[Fiji]], September–October 1993{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}
*The ''[[Jamaica Gleaner]]'' listed Cooper as sixth in their list of "The 10 Best-Dressed Men & Women of 2011".<ref>Francis-Jackson, Chester (5 February 2012), [http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120205/out/out8.html "The 10 Best-Dressed Men & Women Of 2011"], ''The Gleaner''.</ref>
* [[Order of Distinction]] in the rank of Commander (CD), August 2013
* [[Order of Distinction]] in the rank of Commander (CD), August 2013, "for outstanding contribution to Education".<ref name=gov /><ref>[http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20130807/ent/ent1.html "The Arts Play Big Part In This Year's National Honours"], ''The Gleaner'', 7 August 2013.</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
Line 77: Line 97:


==External links==
==External links==
*{{Official website|carolynjoycooper.wordpress.com}}
*{{Twitter|karokupa}}
* Jérémie Kroubo Dagnini, [http://smallaxe.net/sxsalon/interviews/insight-jamaican-music-interview-carolyn-cooper "An Insight into Jamaican Music: Interview with Carolyn Cooper"], sx salon (''Small Axe''), 27 October 2010. Interview conducted on 27 November 2006.
* Jérémie Kroubo Dagnini, [http://smallaxe.net/sxsalon/interviews/insight-jamaican-music-interview-carolyn-cooper "An Insight into Jamaican Music: Interview with Carolyn Cooper"], sx salon (''Small Axe''), 27 October 2010. Interview conducted on 27 November 2006.
* [http://carolynjoycooper.wordpress.com/ "Jamaica Woman Tongue"], Carolyn Cooper blog.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061510/http://mord.mona.uwi.edu/biblio/listotherauth.asp?auth=Cooper%2C%20Carolyn Mona Online Research Database.]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061510/http://mord.mona.uwi.edu/biblio/listotherauth.asp?auth=Cooper%2C%20Carolyn Mona Online Research Database.]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJwWPs97ao0 "Carolyn Cooper - Interview (Smile Jamaica) February 6 2019"]. YouTube.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f_hFgSLTV8 "Big Tingz A Gwaan: Wan Taak Wid Carolyn Cooper Pt. 1 | An Interview with Carolyn Cooper Pt. 1"]. YouTube, 6 April 2021.
* Lennox Aldred, [https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/esponsored/20210425/carolyn-cooper-pioneer-jamaicas-literary-musical-culture "Carolyn Cooper – pioneer of Jamaica’s literary & musical culture"], Women of Distinction, ''The Gleaner'', 25 April 2021.


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:Jamaican non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Jamaican women writers]]
[[Category:Jamaican academics]]
[[Category:Jamaican literary critics]]
[[Category:Cultural critics]]
[[Category:Literature educators]]
[[Category:University of the West Indies academics]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Women columnists]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Distinction]]
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:20th-century Jamaican women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Jamaican women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Jamaican writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Jamaican writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Jamaican women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Jamaican writers]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of the West Indies]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Distinction]]
[[Category:Jamaican academics]]
[[Category:Jamaican columnists]]
[[Category:Jamaican literary critics]]
[[Category:Jamaican non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Jamaican television people]]
[[Category:Jamaican women academics]]
[[Category:Jamaican women academics]]
[[Category:People from Kingston, Jamaica]]
[[Category:Jamaican women columnists]]
[[Category:Jamaican women journalists]]
[[Category:Jamaican women writers]]
[[Category:Literature educators]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People educated at St Hugh's High School]]
[[Category:Scholars of Caribbean literature]]
[[Category:University of the West Indies alumni]]
[[Category:University of Toronto alumni]]
[[Category:Women literary critics]]
[[Category:Writers from Kingston, Jamaica]]

Latest revision as of 09:45, 4 July 2024

Carolyn Cooper

CD
BornCarolyn Joy Cooper
(1950-11-20) 20 November 1950 (age 74)
Kingston, Colony of Jamaica, British Empire
OccupationAuthor, literary scholar, columnist, TV host
Alma materUniversity of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Website
carolynjoycooper.wordpress.com

Carolyn Cooper CD (born 20 November 1950)[1] is a Jamaican author, essayist and literary scholar. She is a former professor of Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. From 1975 to 1980, she was an assistant professor at Atlantic Union College in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. In 1980, she was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Literatures in English at the University of the West Indies (UWI), where she continued to work until her retirement as a professor in 2017. Also a newspaper journalist, Cooper writes a weekly column for the Sunday Gleaner.[2]

Biography

[edit]

Early years and education

[edit]

Carolyn Joy Cooper[3] was born in 1950 in Kingston, Jamaica, to parents who were members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[4] She attended St Hugh's High School in Kingston.[5]

In 1968, she was awarded the Jamaica Scholarship (Girls). She attended the University of the West Indies, Mona, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English (B.A. English) in 1971. She was awarded a Canadian International Development Agency fellowship to the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1971 to study for her master's degree in English, which was followed by the completion of her PhD at the same institution in 1977.[6]

Academic career

[edit]

In 1980, Cooper was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Literatures in English at the University of the West Indies, where she taught courses on Caribbean, African-American and African literature, as well as popular culture.[6]

She was instrumental in establishing in 1994 the Reggae Studies Unit at the University of the West Indies, Mona, which has hosted numerous public lectures and symposiums featuring reggae/dancehall artists and other practitioners in the music industry in Jamaica and internationally such as Lady Saw, Vybz Kartel, Bounty Killer, Tony Rebel, Ninjaman, Louise Frazer-Bennett, Christine Hewett, Tanya Stephens, Gentleman and Queen Ifrica.

Cooper founded the annual Bob Marley Lecture in 1997. The Reggae Studies Unit has also convened academic conferences, including in 2008 the Global Reggae Conference,[7] the plenary papers for which are collected in Global Reggae[8] (2012), edited by Cooper and published by the University of the West Indies Press. With Dr Eleanor Wint, Cooper co-edited Bob Marley: The Man and His Music (2003), a selection of papers presented at the 1995 symposium that marked the reggae icon's 50th birthday.[9]

In 2017, Cooper retired from being professor of literary and cultural studies at UWI.[10] Selected presentations by her are held at UWI Archives.[11]

Writing and media work

[edit]

Cooper is the author of the books Noises in the Blood: Orality, Gender and the "Vulgar" Body of Jamaican Popular Culture (1993) and Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large (2004), as well as numerous articles, book chapters, conference presentations and plenary lectures.

A well-known media personality in Jamaica, she is a weekly columnist for the Sunday Gleaner. In the 1990s, she co-hosted a television show, Man and Woman Story, with Dr Leahcim Semaj for the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation.[7] She also co-hosted a public affairs programme, Question Time on CVM Television, and, more recently, Big People Sup'm on PBC Jamaica.[12][10]

Cooper is a contributor to the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.[13]

Selected works

[edit]

Books

[edit]
  • Noises in the Blood: Orality, Gender and the "Vulgar" Body of Jamaican Popular Culture (1995)
  • Sound Clash: Jamaican Dancehall Culture at Large (2004)

Books edited by Cooper

[edit]
  • Bob Marley: The Man and His Music (2003), with Eleanor Wint
  • Global Reggae (2012)

Articles

[edit]
  • "Loosely talking theory: Oral/Sexual Discourse in Jamaican Popular Culture", The CRNLE Reviews Journal, 1, 1994, pp. 62–73.
  • "Lyrical Gun: Metaphor and Role Play in Jamaican Dancehall Culture", The Massachusetts Review, Vol. 35, Issues 3 & 4, 1994, pp. 429–447.
  • "Race and the Cultural Politics of Self-representation: A View from the University of the West Indies", Research in African Literatures, 27, 1996, pp. 97–105.
  • "Ragamuffin sounds: Crossing over from reggae to rap and back", Caribbean Quarterly, Vol. 44, nos 1 & 2, 1998, pp. 153–168.
  • "'West Indies plight': Louise Bennett and The Cultural Politics of Federation", Social and Economic Studies, 48, 1999, pp. 211–228.
  • "Punany Powah", Black Media Journal, 2, 2000, pp. 50–52.
  • "Enslaved in Stereotypes: Race and Representation in Post-independence Jamaica", Small Axe, 16, 2004, pp. 154–169.
  • "Not Even One Token Woman!", Stabroek News, 21 February 2011.[14]
  • "Another milestone on KC's journey", The Gleaner, 1 June 2018.[15]
  • "UWI celebrates 50-plus years of teaching fi wi literature", The Gleaner, 6 June 2021.[16]
  • "King Charles must rise above impotent talk of 'sorrow' for slavery", openDemocracy, 3 May 2023.[17]
  • "Butchering 'di patwah daktah' in defence of English", The Gleaner, 11 February 2024.[18]
  • "Kingsley Cooper, one man wid vision", The Gleaner, 23 June 2024.[19]

Awards

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Professor Carolyn Cooper", The Library, The University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica.
  2. ^ Cooper, Carolyn (3 January 2021). "Banking on Cuba's Coronavirus Vaccines". Sunday Gleaner.
  3. ^ a b "National Honours and Awards]" (PDF). Jamaica: Office of the Prime Minister. 6 August 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  4. ^ Dawes, Mark (9 September 2003). "Carolyn Cooper, I'm a bald head Rasta". Jamaica Gleaner. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  5. ^ "Five ladies in academia". Jamaica Observer. 23 September 2002. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Carolyn Cooper". Caribbean Studies Association. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  7. ^ a b Carolyn Cooper biography, The Leslie Center for the Humanities, Dartmouth College.
  8. ^ Cooper, Carolyn (30 April 2022). "Jamaicans do not own reggae". The Gleaner.
  9. ^ "Book Review – Bob Marley: The Man And His Music". Jamaicans.com. 24 May 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Retirement Celebration for Professor Carolyn Cooper". Repeating Islands. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Celebrating Two of Our Stalwarts". UWI Archives. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
  12. ^ Cooper, Carolyn (27 May 2016). "Big up, KPH Emergency Department!". The Gleaner.
  13. ^ Perry, Imani (29 March 2019). "New Daughters of Africa – a new anthology of a groundbreaking book". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  14. ^ Cooper, Carolyn (21 February 2011). "Not Even One Token Woman!". Stabroek News.
  15. ^ Cooper, Carolyn (1 June 2018). "Another milestone on KC's journey". The Gleaner.
  16. ^ Cooper, Carolyn (6 June 2021). "UWI celebrates 50-plus years of teaching fi wi literature". The Gleaner.
  17. ^ Cooper, Carolyn (3 May 2023). "King Charles must rise above impotent talk of 'sorrow' for slavery". openDemocracy. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  18. ^ Cooper, Carolyn (11 February 2024). "Butchering 'di patwah daktah' in defence of English". The Gleaner.
  19. ^ Cooper, Carolyn (23 June 2024). "Kingsley Cooper, one man wid vision". The Gleaner.
  20. ^ Francis-Jackson, Chester (5 February 2012), "The 10 Best-Dressed Men & Women Of 2011", The Gleaner.
  21. ^ "The Arts Play Big Part In This Year's National Honours", The Gleaner, 7 August 2013.
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