Draft:Heather Augustyn
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| Submission declined on 28 June 2025 by Qcne (talk). This submission does not appear to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. Entries should be written from a neutral point of view, and should refer to a range of independent, reliable, published sources. Please rewrite your submission in a more encyclopedic format. Please make sure to avoid peacock terms that promote the subject. Declined by Qcne 2 hours ago. | |
| Submission declined on 22 June 2025 by Rambley (talk). This submission is not adequately supported by reliable sources. Reliable sources are required so that information can be verified. If you need help with referencing, please see Referencing for beginners and Citing sources. Declined by Rambley 6 days ago. | |
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| Submission declined on 8 May 2025 by Greenman (talk). This submission is not adequately supported by reliable sources. Reliable sources are required so that information can be verified. If you need help with referencing, please see Referencing for beginners and Citing sources. This submission does not appear to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. Entries should be written from a neutral point of view, and should refer to a range of independent, reliable, published sources. Please rewrite your submission in a more encyclopedic format. Please make sure to avoid peacock terms that promote the subject. Declined by Greenman 51 days ago. | |
Comment: WP: CITEOVERKILL Why do you have so many citations after her name? Astra Travasso (talk) 14:28, 24 June 2025 (UTC)
- Comment: There's just too many claims about the subject that aren't backed up by sources. Either cite the claims or remove them. A random PDF of all her achievements is also not a reliable source. Rambley (talk) 13:50, 22 June 2025 (UTC)
- Comment: See WP:BLP. Statements, starting with the date of birth, need to be sourced or removed. Greenman (talk) 19:40, 8 May 2025 (UTC)
Heather Augustyn | |
|---|---|
| Augustyn, Frank (Photographer). Augustyn in 2024 Augustyn, Frank (Photographer). Augustyn in 2024 | |
| Born | Heather Ransford June 29, 1972 Valparaiso, Indiana, U.S. |
| Occupation |
|
| Citizenship | U.S. |
| Education | Bradley University (BA) DePaul University (MA) |
| Genre | Music History, Creative Nonfiction, Music Journalism |
| Spouse |
Ronald Augustyn (m. 1996) |
| Website | |
| skabook | |
Heather Augustyn..[1][2][3] is an American author, journalist, and academic known for her extensive research and publications on ska and Jamaican music history. She currently holds the position of Assistant Professor of Practice in Writing at Purdue University Northwest, where she teaches courses in composition, creative writing, and cultural studies. Augustyn’s scholarship focuses on the cultural and historical significance of ska, reggae, and related musical genres of the African diaspora.
Early Life and Education
[edit]Born Heather Ransford in 1972,[4] Augustyn was raised in Northwest Indiana. She received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from Bradley University and later earned a Master of Arts in Writing from DePaul University.
Career
[edit]Journalism and Writing
[edit]Prior to her academic appointment, Augustyn worked as a correspondent for The Times of Northwest Indiana for 12 years. Her bylines have appeared in prominent publications such as SPIN Magazine, Wax Poetics, DownBeat, The Village Voice, In These Times, The Humanist, Lake Magazine, and Shore Magazine.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Her journalistic work often explores music, culture, and social issues.
Academic Work
[edit]At Purdue University Northwest, Augustyn integrates creative nonfiction with ethnomusicological approaches, particularly emphasizing Caribbean music traditions. Her academic contributions include peer-reviewed publications in journals such as Jamaica Journal [13] and Caribbean Quarterly [14], as well as conference presentations at institutions including the University of the West Indies, Ton Duc Thang University (Vietnam), and the University of Cambridge.
Recognition and Legacy
[edit]Augustyn’s first book, Ska: An Oral History (2010) [15][16], was nominated for the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research [17]. She has been a featured presenter at international conferences such as the Global Reggae Conference [18][19] (Kingston, Jamaica), the International Conference on Innovations in the Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) [20] , and the British Forum for Ethnomusicology (Cambridge, UK) [21][22]
In 2020, Augustyn donated her extensive archive of ska-related interviews, recordings, and ephemera to Indiana University Bloomington’s Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC). The Heather Augustyn Collection, covering materials from 1944 to 2018, documents the history of ska, rocksteady, and reggae music and serves as a valuable resource for scholars of Caribbean music.
Published Works
[edit]Augustyn is the author of several books that chronicle the evolution of Jamaican music, with particular attention to underrepresented voices in the genre:
- Women in Jamaican Music, McFarland, Spring 2020.[23]
- Operation Jump Up: Jamaica's Campaign for a National Sound, Half Pint Press, 2018.[24]
- Alpha Boys School: Cradle of Jamaican Music, Half Pint Press, 2017.[25]
- Songbirds: Pioneering Women in Jamaican Music, Half Pint Press, 2014.[26]
- Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist, McFarland, 2013.[27][28]
- Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation, Rowman & Littlefield, 2013.[29]
- Ska: An Oral History, McFarland, 2010.[15][16]
- Rude Girls: Women in 2 Tone and One Step Beyond (2023, Sally Brown Publishing).[2][30]
Her publications contribute significantly to the historiography of ska and Jamaican music, with a recurring focus on gender, diaspora, and cultural identity.
Archives
[edit]The Heather Augustyn Collection at the AAAMC [31] , Indiana University, contains a wide range of primary materials related to ska, reggae, and rocksteady, including oral histories, photographs, audio recordings, and printed ephemera. The collection enhances public and scholarly access to resources documenting the global spread and cultural context of Jamaican music traditions.
Media and Public Engagement
[edit]In 2015, Augustyn delivered a TEDx talk,[32] advocating for the importance of preserving oral histories. She emphasized the accessibility of storytelling through digital tools and encouraged communities to record personal narratives for posterity.
Filmography
[edit]- "Pick It Up!: Ska in the '90s" (2019).[33] – Documentary writer
Articles
[edit]- "The Man Who Wrote the Music Down: Jamaican legend Carlos Malcolm sets the record straight"[34] Spin Magazine January 21, 2025.
- "The Selecter Headlines 10th Annual Supernova Ska Fest: Virgina's annual celebration of the Jamaican sound has grown from a backyard party to an institution"[35] Spin Magazine October 29, 2024.
- "Something Wicked This Way Comes: Pussy Riot: Denounced by Putin as witches, these punk warriors' warnings position them more as seers"[36] Spin Magazine November 29, 2023.
- "World Ska's Stupendous Supernova: A Rude Dispatch From Virginia: The biggest ska festival on the planet is a multicultural fusion reaction of positivity"[37] Spin Magazine October 10, 2023.
- "Kurt Vonnegut's Last Interview: The late, great author on family, freethinkers and the entertainment in Indiana"[38] In These Times May 9, 2007.
- "Did Rap Really Come From Jamaica?"[39] Spin Magazine August 9, 2023.
- "Prolific Indie Darling Repeats Himself Splendidly"[40] The Village Voice.
- "Jazz on the Upbeat"[41] DownBeat Magazine February 2019, p. 66.
References
[edit]- ^ "Heather Augustyn, M.A." Purdue University Northwest.
- ^ a b Post-Tribune (April 23, 2023). "Chesterton resident, historian of Jamaican music pens first book on women in ska". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "A Northwest Indiana Life in the Spotlight: Heather Augustyn". NWI.Life. March 19, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "Collection Detail | AAAMC". aaamc.indiana.edu.
- ^ "Release Party, Book Signing for Chesterton Native". Valpo.Life. September 5, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (January 21, 2025). "SPIN". SPIN. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "Heather Augustyn". In These Times. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ Fielding, Heather (February 28, 2019). "How We'll Remember Pat Colander". LitPop. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "Caribbean Queens". wax-poetics. July 27, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (February 20, 2019). "Getting Ahead of the Beat" (PDF). Downbeat. p. 66.
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (July 4, 2006). "Prolific Indie Darling Repeats Himself Splendidly". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ News; Voices; Commentary; Features; Magazine, The; Entertainment, Arts &; Multimedia; Us, About; Us, Contact. "Heather Augustyn". TheHumanist.com. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
{{cite web}}:|last1=has generic name (help) - ^ "Digital Library of the Caribbean". www.dloc.com. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (March 1, 2015). "Spinning Wheels: The Circular Evolution of Jive, Toasting, and Rap". Caribbean Quarterly. 61 (1): 60–74. doi:10.1080/00086495.2015.11672548. ISSN 0008-6495.
- ^ a b "Telling the story of ska". jamaica-gleaner.com. November 7, 2010. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ a b "Ska: An Oral History author Heather Augustyn". AV Club. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "Awards for Excellence Finalists". arsc-audio.org. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ Dopolavoro. "Global Reggae Conference Programme". sonic-street-technologies.com. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "Global Reggae". University of the West Indies Press. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ Staff, Times (October 23, 2019). "Purdue Northwest partners with university in Vietnam". nwitimes.com.
- ^ "British Forum for Ethnomusicology". bfe.org.uk.
- ^ "'Audible Pasts: Ethnomusicology and Global Music History in Dialogue' (2 April 2025)". British Forum for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference 2025. December 3, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ The Roundtable Perspective (January 27, 2024). Women in Jamaican Music - The Roundtable Perspective 412 w/Guest Heather Augustyn. Retrieved June 22, 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Operation jump up : Jamaica's campagin for a national sound | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "New book about Kingston's Alpha Boys' School has been published - The Wire". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "Book Review: Heather Augustyn, "Songbirds: Pioneering Women in Jamaican Music"". Popdose. January 5, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "Book Review: Heather Augustyn, "Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist"". Popdose. November 20, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "Don Drummond's life, art find the page". jamaica-gleaner.com. December 24, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ Rambarran, Shara (October 2016). "Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation. By Heather Augustyn . Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2013. 180 pp. ISBN 9780810884496". Popular Music. 35 (3): 474–476. doi:10.1017/S0261143016000490. ISSN 0261-1430.
- ^ Sacher, Andrew. "New ska book 'Rude Girls: Women in 2 Tone and One Step Beyond' out now". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
- ^ "Collection Detail | AAAMC". aaamc.indiana.edu.
- ^ "2015 Video Playlist".
- ^ Gallaway, Lauren (November 22, 2019). "Pick It Up! — Ska in the '90s Review". Medium. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (January 21, 2025). "The Man Who Wrote the Music Down". SPIN.
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (October 29, 2024). "The Selecter Headlines 10th Annual Supernova Ska Fest". SPIN.
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (November 29, 2023). "Something Wicked This Way Comes: Pussy Riot". SPIN.
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (October 10, 2023). "World Ska's Stupendous Supernova: A Rude Dispatch From Virginia". SPIN.
- ^ "Kurt Vonnegut's Last Interview". In These Times. May 9, 2007.
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (August 9, 2023). "DID RAP REALLY COME FROM JAMAICA?". SPIN. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ Augustyn, Heather (July 4, 2006). "Prolific Indie Darling Repeats Himself Splendidly". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
- ^ "DownBeat | Digital Edition | February 2019". www.downbeat.com. Retrieved May 8, 2025.