Njelle Hamilton’s 2019 monograph Phonographic Memories was the foundational text to our project. In bringing together literary studies, ethnomusicology, and neurology, Hamilton explores how contemporary Caribbean novelists have situated Caribbean music (calypso, reggae, mambo, bolero, jazz) as a site of memory and nostalgia for both individual and collective experiences. She argues that Caribbean music encodes autobiographical, cultural, and surrogate memory into a person’s physical body, and she and traces these connections through the fiction of Lawrence Scott, Oscar Hijuelo, Gwoka, Colin Channer, and Ramabai Espinet. A groundbreaking text in sound studies, Phonographic Memories insists that we listen to the sounds of those who colonialism has silenced and develops a set of ethical practices that can structure how we read, hear, and remember.
The Digital Project
Our digital project is composed of several elements, largely in conjunction with the paratextual playlist Hamilton includes in the preface of “Phonographic Memories”. Please refer to the directory below when navigating:
- Phonographic Memories Playlist
- A Visual Analysis of the PM Playlist
- Selected Close-Readings
- Annotated Bibliography
- Phonographic Memories Playlist, as provided by the students of Professor Jaji’s Sound and Double Consciousness Course
