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Jessica Swanston Baker is an ethnomusicologist specializing in contemporary popular music from the Circum-Caribbean. Her research critically examines tempo aesthetics, coloniality, decolonization, and race/gender respectability. As a Caribbeanist, her work focuses on issues surrounding Caribbean theory, particularly the representation and invisibility of small island nations. She is currently undertaking an ethnographic book project titled 'Island Time: Speed in the Archipelago of St. Kitts and Nevis,' which explores the relationship between tempo perception and the legacies of gendered and raced coloniality. In her recent article, 'Black Like Caribbean Tourism St. Kitts Music Festival,' she investigates music tourism as a key area of her research interest, emphasizing the connections between black diasporic travel, American soul music, and the music festivals in the Caribbean. She holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Pennsylvania and a BM in Vocal Performance from Bucknell University. She previously served as a postdoctoral fellow in Critical Caribbean Studies at Rutgers University from 2015 to 2016.
University of Chicago • Chicago, IL
Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Music.
Department of Philosophy