Music 80N: The Grateful Dead and the Long 1960s – Syllabus Department of Music, University of California – Santa Cruz, Spring Quarter 2018 Instructor: Dr. Melvin Backstrom
[email protected] Teaching Assistants: Marguerite Brown
[email protected] Ike Minton
[email protected] Class Schedule: MWF, 12pm-1:05pm, Music 101 (Recital Hall) OFFICE HOURS & LOCATION INSTRUCTOR Room 126 Mondays 2-3pm or by appointment TEACHING ASSISTANTS TBA Course Description This music history survey course uses the seminal Bay Area rock band/improvisational ensemble the Grateful Dead as a lens to understand the music and broader history of countercultural music from the 1950s to the present. It combines an extensive engagement with the music of the Grateful Dead, as well as other related musicians, along with a wide variety of readings from non- musical history, political science, philosophy and cultural studies in order to encourage a deep reflection on what the countercultures of the 1960s meant in their heyday, and what their descendants continue to mean today in both musical and non-musical realms. It aims to be both an introduction to those interested in the Grateful Dead, though largely born after the group’s disbandment in 1995, as well as to appeal to those with a broader interest in recent cultural history. Because the University of California – Santa Cruz is the home of the Grateful Dead Archive, students are encouraged to make use of it. However, given the number of students in the course and limitations of UCSC Special Collections its use will not be required. Readings All texts will be available through UCSC’s online system.