Dr Asya Draganova is a Lecturer in Media and Communications as well as an active researcher within the fields of media and cultural studies, popular music, and cultural sociology. Asya’s doctoral research, awarded by Canterbury Christ Church University, was an ethnographic study into the creation and articulation of popular music within the social and political contexts of contemporary Bulgaria. Since completing her PhD, Asya has been involved with research dedicated to the value of popular music for the heritage and contemporary identity of places and their communities. Currently, Asya is working on developing a study in collaboration with Professor Paul Long, focusing on the local and international significance of heavy metal for the cultural identity of cities, including Birmingham, which is associated with the emergence and formulation of heavy metal. Working with Professor Shane Blackman (Canterbury Christ Church University), Asya is also part of a research on the value of popular music scenes, especially the phenomenon of the so-called ‘Canterbury Sound’, within the heritage and university city of Canterbury.
