College Colloquium

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Changing Times: The Music and Lyrics of Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan has been a major influence on American culture and society for the past half century. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious music awards, has been nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in literature, and was recently awarded an honorary Pulitzer Prize for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture." After exploding on the folk scene as a writer of “protest songs,” he transitioned from topical material to long, complex, stream-of-consciousness songs that were rich in poetic imagery. He also switched from acoustic to amplified music, confounding his most loyal fans. A restless artist, he has constantly reinvented himself and his music. In this colloquium, we will examine Dylan’s recording and performing career, with particular emphasis on the period between 1961 and 1967. We will explore Dylan’s earliest music and lyrical influences and chart the many transformations in his writing and performing, while seeking to understand how he has endured as an artist capable of organizing the multifaceted experiences of modern life into richly textured lyrical and vocal expressions.

Course taught by

Ronald Loftus