Graduate Consultant, Scholars’ Lab

Jason Kirby is a third-year Ph.D. student in the Critical and Comparative Studies program at UVa. His research interests center around questions of identity, class, race, and authenticity in regional musical traditions, particularly in the American South. He is especially interested in the regional connotations of alternative country as an emerging genre of music. Also of interest is popular music’s role in social movements, and the musician as “spokesperson.” Jason comes to UVa by way of Ohio, where he earned his master’s degree in American Culture Studies at Bowling Green State University in 2006. Jason also earned bachelor’s degrees in sociology and literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2002. A lifelong Northern Californian until recently, he is still adjusting to the humid summers enjoyed by the rest of the nation.

Information

• Email: jbk3y at virginia.edu