Jacob Sunshine is an Assistant Professor in the Rhodes College Department of Music, where he teaches courses in Ethnomusicology, Urban Studies, Africana Studies, Latin American Studies, and Gender and Sexuality Studies.
A scholar of sound cultures in the Caribbean, Africa, and the United States, Sunshine's current book project, Déjala Correr: The Sonic Infrastructure of Sociality on Colombia’s Caribbean Coast focuses on sound system culture in Barranquilla, Colombia, the West and Central African guitar music that these sound systems play, and conflicts over sound in public space in urban environments. Sunshine has presented his research at the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM) national conference. He's also given guest lectures at the University of Michigan, Berklee College of Music, Universidad del Magdalena, and Universidad del Norte. He received the 2023 Lise Waxer Prize from SEM for the best paper on popular music by a graduate student. His research has been supported by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies and the Mellon Urban Initiative.
At Rhodes, Sunshine serves as the Director of Instrumental Music and is an inaugural member of the Advisory Board for the Buckman Center for Global Engagement. Along with spearheading new courses like "DJ Cultures and Dance Environments," and "Urban Sound Studies," Sunshine founded the Rhodes Archipelago Ensemble, a student group that performs repertoire from the Caribbean, South American and Africa.
Sunshine served as the Member at Large for the Sound Studies Section of SEM and organized the 2023 Sounding Board exhibition, an annual curated collection of field recordings and sound installations. He also is a current member of Music Export Memphis (MEM) Artist Jury Committee.
Sunshine is also a guitarist, composer, and producer and has collaborated with a diverse array of Memphis, New York, and Boston-based groups.
