Carolyn Cooper
Carolyn Joy Cooper was born on November 20, 1950, in Kingston, Jamaica. She is a distinguished Jamaican author, essayist, and literary scholar, who recently retired from the University of the West Indies, Mona, (UWI) where she pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and taught for 36 years after graduating from St Hugh's High School in Kingston. Subsequent to her graduation from UWI, Cooper won a Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) fellowships to do her MA at the University of Toronto and received fellowships from the University of the West Indies and the University of Toronto to do her PhD, which she completed in 1977.
She played a pivotal role in establishing the Reggae Studies Unit at the UWI in 1994, exploring and teaching Caribbean, African-American, and African literature, as well as popular culture. Her innovative course, “Reggae Poetry,” is offered by the Department of Literatures in English, and attracts students from across the faculties as well as international students.
Professor Cooper conceived the International Reggae Studies Centre and led this far-reaching enterprise for more than a decade. Since the institutionalisation of this program at Mona in 1994, she initiated the annual Bob Marley Lecture in 1997 and the popular series of talks and symposium by an array of reggae/dancehall artists, other industry experts and academics including Lady Saw, Buju Banton, Tony Rebel, Queen Ifrica, Luciano, Capleton, Ninjaman, Gentleman, Louise Frazer-Bennett, Jeremy Harding, Mikey Bennett, Brent Clough and Lez Henry.
Her impactful co-editorship with Dr. Eleanor Wint resulted in the publication "Bob Marley: The Man and His Music" in 2003.In 2017, Carolyn Cooper retired from her role as a professor of literary and cultural studies at the University of the West Indies.
Her authorship includes notable works, such as "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 has contributed numerous articles, book chapters, and plenary lectures.
Cooper is a recognized media personality in Jamaica, renowned for her weekly column in the Sunday Gleaner. In the 1990s, she co-hosted the television show "Man and Woman Story" with Dr. Leahcim Semaj and participated in programs like "Question Time" on CVM Television and "Big People Sup'm" on PBC Jamaica. She contributed to the 2019 anthology "New Daughters of Africa," edited by Margaret Busby.
Carolyn Cooper's multifaceted career has brought her recognition as a prominent figure in Jamaican cultural discourse.
