Rastafari and Reggae: A Dictionary and Sourcebook - Hardcover

by Becky Mulvaney (Author), Carlos Nelson (Author)

A combination dictionary and annotated discography, videography and bibliography, this sourcebook brings together listings of materials on the Rastafarian movement and reggae music. . . . This sourcebook serves as a good introduction to Rastafari and reggae. Reference Books Bulletin

Coinciding with the sixtieth anniversary of Rastafari, this reference book traces the relationship between two intertwined aspects of Jamaican culture: Rastafari and reggae music. As important voices in the ongoing dialogue concerning Jamaica's search for a national identity, Rastafari and reggae have had a significant impact on international music and culture. This work is the first to document and describe these areas for researchers, providing a comprehensive dictionary of terms, people, places, and concepts relevant to Rastafari, reggae music, and their related histories. In a unique collaboration from the American and Jamaican perspectives, Mulvaney and Nelson have supplied annotated references and cross references for written materials, audio recordings, videocassettes, and films that cover the first sixty years of Rastafari and over twenty years of reggae music.

The book is comprised of four main sections. The dictionary serves as the focal point for the cross referencing of the entire book and offers entries that are either directly related to Rastafari and reggae or provide a historical context. The discography, which includes 200 entries, represents a cross section of reggae music from 1968 to 1990 and is organized by musician or band name. A small, representative sample of documentary, concert, and narrative fiction videocassettes that address aspects of Rastafari or reggae music are catalogued in the videography, along with selected films. Finally, the bibliography, prepared by Carlos I.H. Nelson, provides a thorough overview of journal and magazine articles, creative works, dissertations, books, interviews, parts of books, reviews, and theses written by and about Rastafarians and reggae musicians. It covers the past importance, present significance, and future legacies of the movement and the music. The work also includes two appendices that list relevant periodicals and representative musicians and bands. Music students and researchers will find Rastafari and Reggae to be a valuable reference source, as will students in Caribbean and cultural studies, communication, history, and anthropology courses. For academic, public, and music library collections, the book will be an important addition.

Author Biography

REBEKAH MICHELE MULVANEY is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Florida Atlantic University. Her article Popular Art as Rhetorical Artifact: The Case of Reggae Music appeared in the book Culture and Communication: Language, Performance, Technology, and Media, Volume IV.

CARLOS I.H. NELSON is Associate University Librarian at Florida Atlantic University. A citizen of Jamaica, he has compiled several in-house bibliographies for the Florida Atlantic library and has written articles for The Hampton University Journal of Ethnic Studies and the International Review of History and Political Science.