Alisha Lola Jones ’07 M.Div.

Dr. Alisha Lola Jones is a noted performer-scholar and ethnomusicologist. Along with her 2022 appointment as University Lecturer in Music in Contemporary Societies at the University of Cambridge, she serves as Assistant Professor of Ethnomusicology and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University. Dr. Jones is a board member of the Society for Ethnomusicology, a member of the Strategic Planning Task Force of the American Musicological Society, and a Co-Chair of the Music and Religion Section of the American Academy of Religion. As a performer-scholar, she consults museums, conservatories, seminaries, and arts organizations on curriculum, live and virtual event programming, and content development. Jones’ book Flaming? The Peculiar Theopolitics of Fire and Desire in Black Male Gospel Performance (Oxford University Press, 2020) analyzes the role of gospel music-making in constructing and renegotiating gender identity among Black men. Her research interests extend to global pop music, music of the African diaspora, music and food, the music industry and marketplace, and anti-oppressive ways of listening to Black women. Dr. Jones has been featured in Liner Notes magazine, the Afro-American newspaper Black Enterprise, the Huffington Post, the  Christian Century, and For Harriet.