Draft:Heather Augustyn

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  • 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
BornHeather Ransford
(1972-06-29) June 29, 1972 (age 52)
Valparaiso, Indiana, U.S.
Occupation
  • Professor
  • Writer
CitizenshipU.S.
EducationBradley University (BA)
DePaul University (MA)
GenreMusic History, Creative Nonfiction, Music Journalism
Spouse
Ronald Augustyn
​
(m. 1996)​
Website
skabook.com

Heather Augustyn[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] is an American author, journalist, and academic recognized for her contributions to the documentation and analysis of ska and Jamaican music history.

She serves as an Assistant Professor of Practice in Writing at Purdue University Northwest[1], where she teaches courses in composition and creative writing. Augustyn is noted for her published books, peer-reviewed scholarship, and media appearances that explore the cultural significance and evolution of ska music.

Early Life and Education

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Heather Augustyn, nee Ransford, was born in 1972[9] and raised in Northwest Indiana. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from Bradley University and a Master of Arts in Writing from DePaul University.

Career

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Journalism and Writing

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Before her academic career, Augustyn worked as a correspondent for The Times of Northwest Indiana for 12 years. Her journalism career includes contributions to SPIN Magazine, Wax Poetics, Downbeat, The Village Voice, In These Times Magazine, The Humanist, Lake Magazine, Shore Magazine[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] .

Academic Career

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Heather Augustyn is an Assistant Professor of Practice at Purdue University Northwest[1], where she teaches composition, creative writing, and cultural studies. Her academic focus blends creative nonfiction and ethnomusicology, particularly in exploring Caribbean and African diasporic music cultures such as ska and reggae.

She has presented at academic conferences and published peer-reviewed work on the global evolution of ska in such publications as Jamaica Journal[18] and Caribbean Quarterly.[19]

Recognition and Awards

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Augustyn's debut book, Ska: An Oral History (2010)[7][20], was nominated for the Association for Recorded Sound Collections (ARSC) Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research.[21]

She has been invited to present her research at events, including the International Reggae Conference at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica (2013, 2015, 2017),[22][23] International Conference on Innovations in the Social Sciences and Humanities at Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in October 2019[24] and British Forum for Ethnomusicology, University of Cambridge April 2025.[25][26]

Augustyn's collection of interviews and artifacts related to ska music has been donated to Indiana University's Archives of African American Music and Culture, ensuring the preservation and accessibility of these valuable resources for future scholarship.

The Heather Augustyn Collection at the Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC) at Indiana University Bloomington[9] is a rich repository documenting the history of ska, rocksteady, and reggae music. Donated by Heather Augustyn in 2020, the collection spans from 1944 to 2018, with the majority of materials dating from 1997 to 2018.

Books

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The following is a comprehensive list of published works by Heather Augustyn, reflecting her contributions to the study of Jamaican music, ska, and related cultural movements:

  • Women in Jamaican Music, McFarland, Spring 2020.[27]
  • Operation Jump Up: Jamaica's Campaign for a National Sound, Half Pint Press, 2018.[28]
  • Alpha Boys School: Cradle of Jamaican Music, Half Pint Press, 2017.[29]
  • Songbirds: Pioneering Women in Jamaican Music, Half Pint Press, 2014.[30]
  • Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist, McFarland, 2013.[31][32]
  • Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation, Rowman & Littlefield, 2013.[33]
  • Ska: An Oral History, McFarland, 2010.[7][20]
  • Rude Girls: Women in 2 Tone and One Step Beyond (2023, Sally Brown Publishing).[3][34]

These works underscore Augustyn's dedication to documenting the cultural, historical, and social dimensions of Jamaican music, particularly the voices and stories often overlooked in mainstream narratives.

Archives

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The Heather Augustyn Collection at the Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC)[35] at Indiana University Bloomington is a rich repository documenting the history of ska, rocksteady, and reggae music. Donated by Heather Augustyn in 2020, the collection spans from 1944 to 2018, with the majority of materials dating from 1997 to 2018.

In a 2015 TedX Talks,[36] author and historian Heather Augustyn tells us why words are worth a thousand pictures and the importance of recording oral histories of the people in our lives. She tells of her own experience recording histories of pioneering women in Jamaican music and relates how crucial and simple it is for schools, senior living homes, communities, and even families at the dinner table to use smartphones to record stories and personal histories before they are gone forever.

Filmography

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  • "Pick It Up!: Ska in the '90s" (2019). [37]

Articles

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  • "The Man Who Wrote the Music Down: Jamaican legend Carlos Malcolm sets the record straight"[38] 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"[39] 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"[40] 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"[41] Spin Magazine October 10, 2023.
  • "Kurt Vonnegut's Last Interview: The late, great author on family, freethinkers and the entertainment in Indiana"[42] In These Times May 9, 2007.
  • "Did Rap Really Come From Jamaica?"[43] Spin Magazine August 9, 2023.
  • "Prolific Indie Darling Repeats Himself Splendidly"[44] The Village Voice.
  • "Jazz on the Upbeat"[45] DownBeat Magazine February 2019, p. 66.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Heather Augustyn, M.A." Purdue University Northwest.
  2. ^ "Interview with Heather Augustyn". Art Critter. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "A Northwest Indiana Life in the Spotlight: Heather Augustyn". NWI.Life. March 19, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  5. ^ Weinstein, Jack Russell (January 10, 2021). "Why? Radio – "A Philosophical Look at Ska and Jamaican Music" with guest Heather Augustyn". The Institute for Philosophy in Public Life. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  6. ^ "Caribbean Queens". wax-poetics. July 27, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c "Telling the story of ska". jamaica-gleaner.com. November 7, 2010. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  8. ^ Ska Boom Interviews - Heather Augustyn: Ska Historian & Author - Ska Boom - An American Ska & Reggae Podcast. October 8, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2025 – via www.buzzsprout.com.
  9. ^ a b "Collection Detail | AAAMC". aaamc.indiana.edu.
  10. ^ "Release Party, Book Signing for Chesterton Native". Valpo.Life. September 5, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  11. ^ Augustyn, Heather (January 21, 2025). "SPIN". SPIN. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  12. ^ "Heather Augustyn". In These Times. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  13. ^ Fielding, Heather (February 28, 2019). "How We'll Remember Pat Colander". LitPop. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  14. ^ "Caribbean Queens". wax-poetics. July 27, 2021. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  15. ^ Augustyn, Heather (February 20, 2019). "Getting Ahead of the Beat" (PDF). Downbeat. p. 66.
  16. ^ Augustyn, Heather (July 4, 2006). "Prolific Indie Darling Repeats Himself Splendidly". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  17. ^ 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)
  18. ^ "Digital Library of the Caribbean". www.dloc.com. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ a b "Ska: An Oral History author Heather Augustyn". AV Club. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  21. ^ "Awards for Excellence Finalists". arsc-audio.org. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  22. ^ Dopolavoro. "Global Reggae Conference Programme". sonic-street-technologies.com. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  23. ^ "Global Reggae". University of the West Indies Press. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  24. ^ Staff, Times (October 23, 2019). "Purdue Northwest partners with university in Vietnam". nwitimes.com.
  25. ^ "British Forum for Ethnomusicology". bfe.org.uk.
  26. ^ "'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.
  27. ^ The Roundtable Perspective (January 27, 2024). Women in Jamaican Music - The Roundtable Perspective 412 w/Guest Heather Augustyn. Retrieved June 22, 2025 – via YouTube.
  28. ^ "Operation jump up : Jamaica's campagin for a national sound | WorldCat.org". search.worldcat.org. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  29. ^ "New book about Kingston's Alpha Boys' School has been published - The Wire". The Wire Magazine - Adventures In Modern Music. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  30. ^ "Book Review: Heather Augustyn, "Songbirds: Pioneering Women in Jamaican Music"". Popdose. January 5, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  31. ^ "Book Review: Heather Augustyn, "Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist"". Popdose. November 20, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  32. ^ "Don Drummond's life, art find the page". jamaica-gleaner.com. December 24, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  33. ^ 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.
  34. ^ Sacher, Andrew. "New ska book 'Rude Girls: Women in 2 Tone and One Step Beyond' out now". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  35. ^ "Collection Detail | AAAMC". aaamc.indiana.edu.
  36. ^ "2015 Video Playlist".
  37. ^ Gallaway, Lauren (November 22, 2019). "Pick It Up! — Ska in the '90s Review". Medium. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
  38. ^ Augustyn, Heather (January 21, 2025). "The Man Who Wrote the Music Down". SPIN.
  39. ^ Augustyn, Heather (October 29, 2024). "The Selecter Headlines 10th Annual Supernova Ska Fest". SPIN.
  40. ^ Augustyn, Heather (November 29, 2023). "Something Wicked This Way Comes: Pussy Riot". SPIN.
  41. ^ Augustyn, Heather (October 10, 2023). "World Ska's Stupendous Supernova: A Rude Dispatch From Virginia". SPIN.
  42. ^ "Kurt Vonnegut's Last Interview". In These Times. May 9, 2007.
  43. ^ Augustyn, Heather (August 9, 2023). "DID RAP REALLY COME FROM JAMAICA?". SPIN. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  44. ^ Augustyn, Heather (July 4, 2006). "Prolific Indie Darling Repeats Himself Splendidly". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
  45. ^ "DownBeat | Digital Edition | February 2019". www.downbeat.com. Retrieved May 8, 2025.