Dr. Finnie D. Coleman is the Director of American Literary Studies n the Department of English at the University of New Mexico where he teaches courses in African American literature and culture.He has served as Interim Dean of University College and Director of Africana Studies. At Texas A&M University Dr. Coleman served as the Director for Honors in the Office of Honors Programs and Academic Scholarships. Prior to his career in academia, Dr. Coleman served as an Army Intelligence Officer during the Persian Gulf War in Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. He is married to UNM’s Dr. Doris Careaga Coleman. They have two children, Anele and Finnie.
The University of New Mexico’s Department of Music and the College of Fine Arts welcomes Dr. Coleman to Keller Hall as he discusses a closing chapter from his book manuscript Visible Rhythms. Music from Janelle Monae, Kendrick Lamar, and Brother Ali set the stage for a discussion of Hip Hop Activism, the Black Lives Matter Movement, and Coleman’s chapter titled “Navigating the Mythologies of Postraciality; Race, Identity, and Underground Hip Hop Culture.”
The Cruelty of Jazz: Toward a Hemispheric Politics of Sound
Rooted in concepts of affect and Empire, this paper argues that jazz operated in various 20th century Latin American settings as a vital touchstone bearing the risks and benefits of urban modernization, hemispheric geopolitics, and transnational cultural production, “cruelly” echoing the United States’ cultural, political, and economic dominance in the hemisphere and beyond.
Music from the Americas presents Versus 8
Percussion music in the Americas is one of the most exotic, visually attractive, and antique forms of expression since pre-hispanic times. Preserving, promoting and creating music for the percussion family of instruments is at the core of Versus 8’s mission through international collaboration with composers, performers, students, and cultural centers that contribute with their resources to the cycle of music, namely: creation, performance, and listening..
A Day in the Life of the Bosavi People
A 90 minute, 4K, 7.1 surround sound eco-rockumentary concert of a day in the life of the Bosavi people and their rainforest home in Papua New Guinea, directed and produced by Steven Feld and based on recordings and images from 1976-2018.