H85.1199 History & Criticism 4 Credits
Instructor(s): Richard Goldstein
The music of the Sixties occupies an almost mystical place in the history of rock. But in order to understand its special qualities, it is necessary to examine the context in which that music was made. This course will show how the content and style of pop music in the Sixties reflect a broader set of social values. Students will explore the rise of the New Left, the counterculture, pop art, and other associated movements of that decade; and they will delve into the antecedents of the Sixties, especially in regard to American folk, jazz, and blues traditions. In addition, students will read the work of Sixties intellectuals such as James Baldwin, Marshall McLuhan, Susan Sontag, Tom Wolfe, and Allen Ginsberg. Though the course will focus on rock, it will also examine the impact of R&B, funk, and soul as well as the influence of labels like Atlantic and Motown. The instructor will use his own interactions with important rock creators of that era—such as the Beatles, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison—to bring the Sixties alive, leaving students with a new perspective on how the music and the values of their own generation are connected.
Richard Goldstein has been writing about the intersection of pop culture and politics for 40 years. He was the first journalist to cover rock music regularly for a major newspaper, The Village Voice, where he worked as a writer and editor for many years. His books include The Poetry of Rock, Reporting the Counterculture, and Goldstein’s Greatest Hits.
