Felicia M. Miyakawa is Assistant Professor of Musicology for the MTSU School of Music. She received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Musicology from Indiana University and completed B.A. degrees in both music and French at Linfield College (McMinnville, Oregon). Before joining the MTSU faculty, Miyakawa taught music history review courses for graduate students at Indiana University and music history and music appreciation courses at West Valley College in Saratoga, California.

Her research areas include Hip-hop music and culture, Black Nationalism, American Popular Music, African-American music and literature, and the music and poetry of Guillaume de Machaut. She has presented papers at regional and national meetings of the American Musicological Society, Society for Ethnomusicology, International Association for the Study of Popular Music, the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, and the Society for American Music, as well as at popular music conferences sponsored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Seattle's Experience Music Project.  Her book, Five Percenter Rap: God Hop's Music, Message, and Black Muslim Mission, was published in spring 2005 by Indiana University Press.

Miyakawa is an active member of the American Musicological Society, Society for American Music, and Society for Ethnomusicology. She currently serves on the Society for American Music's Web Editorial Board and Public Relations committee.  She is also the faculty advisor for the Urban Music Society at MTSU.  To see her vita, visit her website: www.FMiyakawa.com.