Ph.D (2002)
Assistant Professor, The Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music
Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
"My six-year journey in the Department enriched my critical vocabulary on the relationship between the arts and social movements, and - most unexpectedly - it empowered me with a theoretical lens that now informs the practical work I do as a performer and in the recording studio."
Jason received his B.F.A. at the New School for Social Research before entering the M.A. program in Performance Studies in 1996. At that time, he says, "I was searching desperately for a graduate school where I could study popular music from a substantive academic point of view." Jason describes his experiences in Performance Studies as both challenging and enriching: "Working with the inspiring faculty at Performance Studies, I became intoxicated by a diverse range of theories on performance, and my knowledge of popular culture was enriched by exposure to areas of study I would not likely have investigated on my own, such as urban aesthetics, ethnographic surrealism, and Afro-Brazilian religion. The associations I make between those seemingly disparate fields of academic inquiry continue to inform my work as a cultural critic, including the writing I do for popular magazines. In retrospect, I have a much richer sense of the ineffable—and sometimes magical—importance of the performing arts in everyday life and political movements."
Jason's dissertaion, Blue Magic: Stardom, Soul Music and Illumination was awarded both the Michael Kirby Dissertation Fellowship and the Patricia Dunn Lehrmann Fellowship for Outstanding Dissertation Topic. Since joining the faculty at NYU, Jason has taught classes on popular culture and society in the Department of Art and Public Policy, the Asian/Pacific American Studies Program, Tisch Drama Department and the Gallatin School of Individualized Study. In addition to lecturing and publishing, Jason also works as a performer, playwright, director, songwriter, musician, and vocal arranger. He has been a freelance writer for Vibe magazine since 2001.
Jason is currently finishing his first book project titled, When Black People Lost Their Minds, a searing critical assault on black popular culture during the Clinton years. Jason also produced, arranged and performed all instruments and vocal parts on his first full-length album, which is due to be released soon.
