Meagan A. Sylvester

About Meagan A. Sylvester

Music SociologistMeagan Sylvester is a Music Sociologist with a consultancy practice through which she provides her clients with insight into the sociological framing of Caribbean and diasporic spaces using the lens of indigenous musics of the Caribbean as the main units of analysis. Her work delves into connections among Caribbean music, issues of identity, migration and cultural transformations as expressed in the festival culture between the Caribbean and other traditional and non-traditional Carnival festival locales. Partnering with several organisations around the globe, her work encompasses academic conference presentations, hosting scholarly workshops, participating in international seminars and being a member of strategic teams responsible for sociological research and analysis across both western and non-western cultures including Europe, Latin America, South America, the United States and numerous islands in the Caribbean. AuthorMeagan Sylvester is a published author from the Caribbean twin island of Trinidad and Tobago. She has over twenty (20) book chapters and journals articles. She currently has two book projects on Carnival, Culture and Music on the way.ResearcherShe is a graduate of The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus and a Caribbean scholar whose doctoral research focused on Narratives of Resistance in Calypso and Ragga Soca music. Her continuing interrogation within the academy centers on Music, Gender, and National Identity in Calypso and Soca, Music of Diasporic Carnivals, Narratives of Resistance in Calypso and Ragga Soca music, Steelpan and kaisoJazz musical identities. Teaching and research interests are Caribbean Music Cultures and African Diaspora Popular Culture. JournalistFrequent Radio talk show guest/host (2009 – present)Frequent TV talk show guest/host (2009 – present)Frequent Newspaper columnist (2009 – present)Experienced journalist and editor for a multi-lingual online publication covering the Caribbean, Diasporic and International News. Managing and overseeing a team of ten (10) contributors, freelance writers and sub-editors. Researching and writing a range of stories, including academic and scholarly content, breaking news, investigations and analyses, aiming at all times for fairness and accuracy. Publishing monthly. Editing content and posting using a WordPress CMS system. Self-starter and a problem solver, a jack of all trades ready to pitch in on all aspects of editing, publishing and researching work.

Experience

1. Faculty - Communications and English at the Percy E Sutton Seek Program

   Queens College

   Mar 2024 — Present · Queens, NY, US

Education

• University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus

  Ph.D. Sociology, Sociology of Music

• The University of the West Indies

  Bachelors of Science, Sociology and Government,

  1989 — 1992

• The University of the West Indies, Mona

  Masters of Philosophy, Sociology of Development

  2000 — 2005

• The University of the West Indies

  Post Graduate Diploma, International Relations and Affairs

  1994 — 1995