research paper
The Sociology of the Jamaican Dancehall: Transcending Conflict, Embracing Webs of Significance
Orville Beckford, UWI Mona
This paper aims to increase awareness of the functional aspect and contribution of the dancehall space to Jamaican society and culture, and uses the dancehall space to show the organic nature of Jamaica’s inner cities with its webs of significance. It enquires into the significance of the dancehall space to Jamaican society and culture, recognizing the importance of dancehall music as a vehicle of expression for marginalized people and examining the sociology of Jamaica’s inner cities. This is done through a qualitative analysis drawing on anthropological research of the inner cities and dancehall space.
The paper concludes that the social dynamics of the dancehall space can only be properly understood if it is examined in connection to the large Jamaican society.
The Jamaican dancehall is an interesting space that has attracted the attention of many scholars. This emerging music form embodies the pulse of Jamaica's marginalized and inner city people. Dancehall is an off-shoot from reggae, Jamaica's indigenous musical form. Consequently, it manifests the various cultural, historical and structural dynamics of Jamaican society.
Dancehall is a cultural space and much more. The space is also economic, political, gendered, and fast becoming institutionalized. Reggae music is known as the social commentary of the oppressed. The lyrical content of the music documents the daily struggles of the marginalized and the seemingly oppression of them by the dominant class (known as Babylon). This is not the only social discourse that reggae music portrays. The constant fight for ascendancy and control of the bedroom space become key areas of discourse as the dancehall artist seeks to please the Freudian public. The music is a reflection of life as the dancehall participants knows it. The sociology of the space that they inhabit on a daily basis and
Orville Beckford, UWI Mona
This paper aims to increase awareness of the functional aspect and contribution of the dancehall space to Jamaican society and culture, and uses the dancehall space to show the organic nature of Jamaica’s inner cities with its webs of significance. It enquires into the significance of the dancehall space to Jamaican society and culture, recognizing the importance of dancehall music as a vehicle of expression for marginalized people and examining the sociology of Jamaica’s inner cities. This is done through a qualitative analysis drawing on anthropological research of the inner cities and dancehall space.
The paper concludes that the social dynamics of the dancehall space can only be properly understood if it is examined in connection to the large Jamaican society.
The Jamaican dancehall is an interesting space that has attracted the attention of many scholars. This emerging music form embodies the pulse of Jamaica's marginalized and inner city people. Dancehall is an off-shoot from reggae, Jamaica's indigenous musical form. Consequently, it manifests the various cultural, historical and structural dynamics of Jamaican society.
Dancehall is a cultural space and much more. The space is also economic, political, gendered, and fast becoming institutionalized. Reggae music is known as the social commentary of the oppressed. The lyrical content of the music documents the daily struggles of the marginalized and the seemingly oppression of them by the dominant class (known as Babylon). This is not the only social discourse that reggae music portrays. The constant fight for ascendancy and control of the bedroom space become key areas of discourse as the dancehall artist seeks to please the Freudian public. The music is a reflection of life as the dancehall participants knows it. The sociology of the space that they inhabit on a daily basis and