Dissertation:  Reggae to L.A. with Love: Style, Authenticity, and Nostalgia In Los Angeles’s Vintage Jamaican Music Scene

Research Interests: music scenes and subcultures, popular music and popular culture, cultural revivals, style-fashion-dress, reggae studies, authenticity, nostalgia and memory, identity and belonging, social and cultural histories of Los Angeles, performance studies, ethnomusicology, feminist theory, oral history, public humanities, public history, engaged research

Fellowship, Grants, and Awards:

• Graduate Studies Travel Award, UCD, 2019
• Cultural Studies Summer Fellowship, UCD, 2019, 2017
• Henry A. Jastro Graduate Student Support Award, UCD, 2019, 2018
• Mellon Public Scholar, 2018
• Southwest Oral History Association General Scholarship, 2018
• Oral History Association Presenter Scholarship, 2017
• Cultural Studies Graduate Group Summer Funding – Special Projects, UC Davis (2017) 
• Cultural Studies Graduate Group Dissertation Quarter Fellowship, UC Davis (2017)
• Mellon Initiative in Comparative Border Studies Summer Research Fellowship, UC Davis (2016)
• Margrit Mondavi Summer Fellowship, UC Davis (2015)
• Provost's Fellowship in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, UC Davis (2013-2014)

Education:

• Ph.D. Cultural Studies with Designated Emphases in (1) Studies in Performance and Practice and (2) Feminist Theory and Research, University of California, Davis, expected December 2019
• M.A., Geography, California State University, Los Angeles, 2008
• Thesis: Post-World War II Jamaican Migration Patterns and the Current Distribution of 1960s Jamaican Vinyl Records
• B.A., Mathematics, magna cum laude, Mount Saint Mary’s College, 2002

Presentations: 

• “When Paths Intersect: Oral History as a Bridge Between Community, Academy, and Creativity.” Paper presentation (accepted), Oral History Association Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, October 16-20, 2019.
• “Bodies in Motion Through Time and Space: Articulating Vintage 1960s Jamaican Popular Music and Subcultural Style in L.A.” Guest lecture, Textiles and Clothing Department: Style and Cultural Studies, Davis, March 12, 2019.
• “Scenarios of Style in a Music Revival Subculture.” Media presentation, Style Salon, Davis, November 14, 2018.
• “Keeping the Underground Alive: Creating Community in a Local Music Subculture.” Paper presentation, Southwest Oral History Association Annual Meeting, Fullerton, April 27-29, 2018.
• “A Spin to Spark Creativity: The Role of Early Jamaican Popular Music Recordings in Los Angeles’s Traditional Ska Scene.” Colloquium speaker, Cultural Studies Graduate Group, Davis, April 19, 2018.
•  “Foregrounding Women Behind the Turntables.” Media presentation, Imagining America National Conference, Davis, October 12-14, 2017.
• “Memory, Narrative, and Ongoing Involvement: The Materialization of Nostalgia in Los Angeles’s Vintage Jamaican Music Scene.” Paper presentation, Oral History Association Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, October 4-7, 2017.
• “Early Jamaican Popular Music and Sound-System Culture.” Guest lecture presented in MUS11: Musics of the World, Davis, March 2.
• “Authenticating the Dancehall: Practice, Pedagogy, and Emotion in Los Angeles’ Vintage Jamaican Music Scene.” Paper presented at the University of the West Indies Global Reggae Conference, Kingston, February 9-11.
• "The Way Things Were: Nostalgia in Los Angeles’ Vintage Jamaican Music Scene.” Paper presented at the UCD Performance Studies Symposium, Davis, October 7-8.
• “Between Love and Protest: Listening to the Multiple Registers of ‘Oh Carolina’.” Paper presented at the UCD Performance Studies Graduate Group Forum, Davis, May 23.
• “From JA To L.A.: Performing Authenticity in Los Angeles’ Vintage Jamaican Music Community.” Poster presented at UCD Humanities Institute Fall Open House, Davis, October 7
• Cole, Nina. “Keeping the Underground Alive: Creating Community in a Local Music Subculture.” Conference paper, Southwest Oral History Association Annual Meeting, Fullerton, CA, April 27-29, 2018.
• “A Spin to Spark Creativity: The Role of Early Jamaican Popular Music Recordings in Los Angeles’ Traditional Ska Scene.” Colloquium speaker, UCD Cultural Studies Graduate Group Colloquium Series, Davis, CA, April 19, 2018.
• “Foregrounding Women Behind the Turntables.” Media presentation, Imagining America National Conference, Davis, CA, October 12-14, 2017.
• Cole, Nina. “Memory, Narrative, and Ongoing Involvement: The Materialization of Nostalgia in Los Angeles’ Vintage Jamaican Music Scene.” Conference paper, Oral History Association Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, October 4-7, 2017.

Publications:

• “A Spin to Spark Creativity: The Role of Early Jamaican Popular Music Recordings in Los Angeles’ Traditional Ska Scene.” Interactions: Studies in Communication and Culture 9, no. 1 (2018): 61-77.