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Building the Grateful Dead Studies Archive The Newsletter of the 2020 GRATEFUL DEAD STUDIES ASSOCIATION President’s Column In the early 1970s, as the U.S. continued to grapple That support made possible the progress we can with the issues that defi ned what historians call report here. In May, the Popular Culture Asso- the long sixties, the Grateful Dead faced their own ciation approved the creation of a Grateful Dead set of challenges, from business and fi nances to area at their annual conference, where the Asso- the deaths of Pigpen and three band members’ ciation will meet; on August 1, we launched the parents. Yet the Dead not only persevered, they websites for the Association (www.deadstudies. emerged with new music and a renewed commit- org) and our journal (www.gratefuldeadstudies. ment to their craft, reaffi rming their vision for their org). We began enrolling members then, and we project. Phil Lesh, who lost his father to cancer thank you all for your participation. We are es- In This Issue while they were recording American Beauty, put it pecially grateful to our Charter Members, whose best when he wrote, “Thank the Lord for music; it’s generosity provides additional support as we a healing force beyond words to describe.” build our infrastructure. That example has been very much on our minds That infrastructure supports many efforts, in- President’s as the Executive Council worked to complete the cluding our conference meeting, scheduled for Column launch of the Association in a year marked by Boston, June 2–5, 2021 (p.2), and the Grateful the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfi res scorching the Dead Studies archive at Northwestern University First Annual West, and storms battering the Southeast. Those Library, which will also host the Association’s re- tragedies affected us all, and made us especially cords (p.3). Those efforts are part of the larger Grateful Dead thankful for the many friends and colleagues who conversation of Grateful Dead studies, which is Studies Associa- pitched in to help us get the Association underway. the focus of our New and Noteworthy (p.4). Ɵ on MeeƟ ng Set As we approach winter, the challenges facing the nation and the world make the solace that mu- sic provides all the more important, as those who CuraƟ ng the gathered to hear Bob Weir and Ratdog perform Dead: Building on the night of August 9, 1995, understood. Crit- the Grateful Dead ics wondered if the show would be cancelled, in deference to the passing of Jerry Garcia, but Studies Archive Deadheads knew better. As Weir said when he at Northwestern walked out on stage, “If our good friend taught University us anything, it’s that music can make a bad time a little better.” So can our conversation about that music. On be- New and Note- half of the Executive Council, thank you for your worthy: Recent support! We look forward to seeing you in June. Highlights in The Caucus in Session, February 22, 2019 Nicholas Meriwether A View of Boston from the Square Grateful Dead Studies No. 2 | 2020 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD STUDIES ASSOCIATION Boston, from the Harbor Boston 2021! First Annual MeeƟ ng Set for June 2–5, 2021 Mark your calendars! The fi rst annual meeting of GDSA fulfi lls that request, affi rming his belief in Grate- the Grateful Dead Studies Association will be held ful Dead studies as an important voice in the vibrant in conjunction with the Popular Culture Association scholarly conversation about popular culture. conference, June 2–5, 2021, at the Boston Mar- “Securing an area at the PCA is a recognition that riott Copley Place. We invite all members to cele- Grateful Dead studies has earned its rightful place in brate this landmark event with us in a city whose the academy,” Jan Wright, Secretary of the Association, rich and deep history makes it a particularly fi tting observed. In the increasingly competitive environment location for the Association’s inaugural meeting. of pop culture studies, this achievement demonstrates The Grateful Dead Studies that Grateful Dead studies has established itself as a Association will hold its own viable and vital fi eld of study. Boston 2021 At A Glance: events along with the larger “This is an exciting time in Dead studies,” noted Beth PCA conference, which will host Carroll, a professor at Appalachian State University and the group’s sessions as part of • 4 days, June 2–5, 2021 Treasurer of the Association. “The formation of a Grate- its Grateful Dead area. Partici- ful Dead area at a major national conference is a sign • Held at the historic Boston Marriott pants will have access to all of of both the sophistication and the maturation of the Copley Place the events of the PCA confer- discourse.” ence, which will provide a larger • Full schedule of sessions, speakers venue for the work of the Associ- The conference location has a particular resonance for and events ation, highlighting the discourse the Association. In addition to its premier reputation as • Proposals due November 16 of Grateful Dead studies and an academic and intellectual hub, Boston holds a re- vered place in Grateful Dead history as well. The band • Early (reduced fee) Registration presenting it to an international audience. “The establishment played 51 shows in the city from 1967 to 1994, the ma- closes December 31 of an area at the Popular Cul- jority at the Boston Music Hall and the Boston Garden, ture Association represents a providing the recordings for three Dick’s Picks, one milestone for the scholarly dis- Dave’s Pick, and contributing to three box sets. Those course on the Dead,” Granville Ganter, President- concerts made it clear that the Dead’s music and ap- Elect of the Association remarked. “This achieve- proach complemented the city’s rich history, from its ment puts the work of the Association on a national celebrated role in the American Revolution to its more stage.” The Grateful Dead area will also be open colorful esoteric currents, which emerged early in the to all members of the Popular Culture Association, city’s history. Those continued well into modern times, which celebrates its fi ftieth year in 2021. That an- even playing a role in Boston’s own countercultural his- niversary makes the launch of the area especially tory in the 1960s, when the city fi rst hosted the Dead. appropriate: Ray Browne, one of the founders of Originally scheduled for the spring, the conference was the PCA and a preeminent voice in popular culture pushed back to June in an effort to make an in-person studies, was impressed with the Grateful Dead ses- meeting possible. Organizers are monitoring the CO- sions he saw at the joint meeting of the PCA and VID-19 pandemic and if health concerns remain, the the Southwest PCA in 2011, and he encouraged conference will be held online, but we hope to welcome the establishment of a Dead area at the national all of our members in Boston to celebrate the start of conference. Ten years later, the formation of the an exciting new chapter in Grateful Dead studies. No. 2 page 2 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD STUDIES ASSOCIATION CuraƟ ng the Dead: Building the Grateful Dead Studies Archive Scholars have longed for well-curated archives to facilitate their research in Grate- ful Dead studies, a theme sounded in conference papers and articles for years, yet only recently have good university repositories recognized the signifi cance of the Grateful Dead’s achievement and impact. Now, prominent institutions have begun to show interest in the Dead’s legacy, as Stanford University’s recent acqui- sition of John Perry Barlow’s papers shows. With the support of the Grateful Dead Studies Association, Northwestern Univer- sity has joined this effort by agreeing to host the Grateful Dead Studies collec- tion, which includes the papers of the Association as part of its wider mandate to document the scholarly study of the Grateful Dead phenomenon. As part of Northwestern’s Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections, the collection will provide the most extensive archive of the academic work on the Dead phenomenon ever assembled, offering scholars, students, and researchers a comprehensive survey of the development of the scholarship on the Grateful Dead in a centrally located, world-class research library. “We’re pleased and honored to have the opportunity to host the Grateful Dead Studies archive, as part of our goal to document the cultural history of the so- called “Long Sixties,” Scott Krafft, curator for the McCormick Library commented. “The Grateful Dead were a groundbreaking band whose impact extends well be- Charles Deering Memorial Library at Northwestern University yond the purview of most popular music, as the scholarly work on them reveals.” Krafft, who was recently appointed to the Association’s Board of Ad- vocates, spearheaded the acquisition of the collection, which is being prepared for accession now. COVID-19 delayed the fi rst bequest, now on track for the end of 2020 with additional accruals scheduled in 2021 and continuing until the core is completed. Two series will con- tinue to accept accessions to allow the collection to fulfi ll its mission of documenting the larger discourse, which shows no signs of slowing, as the Association’s work demonstrates. The primary goal of the collection is to provide scholars and students with a complete history of Grateful Dead studies, but it also offers a wealth of insights for scholars researching a number of other fi elds, from the problems and potential of interdisciplinarity to the ways that discourse communities form and grow.
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