Students get oppurtunity to study Bob Dylan and other ’60s musicians in new English class

By Melissa Mongi
Senior Staff Writer
April 25, 2007

Some La Salle University students are studying a new subject this spring—Bob Dylan. “When the Ship Comes In: Bob Dylan and the Sixties” is a new American studies seminar course taught by La Salle English professor Stephen P. Smith, Ph.D.

The course concentrates on Dylan’s albums from 1960 through 1975 and the correlation of Dylan’s music to the historical events taking place in American culture.

While some might not be able to understand Dylan’s warbling vocals, a course concentrating on his lyrics and how they were inspired by the issues of the era allows students to understand the significance of Dylan’s work.

“Our premise will be that Dylan’s music somehow transcends the milieu of ‘popular music,’ making it worthy of study both for its own intrinsic value and for its reflection, intentional or not, of key changes in American culture,” Smith said.

“Now I wish I could write you a melody so plain/That could hold you dear lady from going insane/That could ease you and cool you and cease the pain/Of your useless and pointless knowledge,” Dylan sings in his 1966 song “Tombstone Blues.”

These lyrics demonstrate Dylan’s inability to adhere to music standards of his time. The class analyzes songs like “Tombstone Blues,” that were unique compared to the “pop” music of Dylan’s contemporaries.

Dylan was considered a prophet and a “pied piper” figure for his generation. His music mirrors his personal disdain for the media, his hesitance to uphold the title of prophet, his ambivalence to fame, and his views on American society. Many of Dylan’s lyrics speak of corrupt politicians, the outcast figure, civil rights issues and anti-war sentiments.

The seminar class meets weekly in The Connelly Library, home to the Bob Dylan Collection, an archive of Dylan’s work and memorabilia. The class discusses the Dylan album of the week coinciding, by year, with readings in the course book The Portable Sixties Reader. Dylan’s 1966 Blonde on Blonde album corresponds with readings written or published near the date of the album, including Susan Sontag’s “What’s Happening in America,” Diana di Prima’s “The Holidays at Millbrook—1966” and excerpts from Jim Carroll’s The Basketball Diaries. Readings by Allen Ginsberg, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King Jr., Alice Walker and other influential writers and speakers of the time period are highlighted throughout the course.

“It’s quite apparent that Dr. Smith, like me, is a super fan,” Ed Clark, a senior enrolled in the Dylan course, said,  “However, he manages to make the course much more than a Bob Dylan fan club meeting—he encourages a close examination of the music and the lyrics.”

Clark enjoys the course’s diversity and the variety of readings per week.

“It’s not just Bob Dylan. I know there are people out there who are repelled by his signature nasal whine. Dr. Smith also assigns readings that encapsulate the 1960s, a rather daunting task,” Clark said.  

Half of the classtime is devoted to reflection on historical context, and then students focus on the lyrics and music of Dylan’s album for that week. The students analyze lyrics like, “Once upon a time you dressed so fine/You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you?” The open class discussion lets students voice their opinions and help one another better understand Dylan’s intentions.

Smith, with his vibrant teaching techniques, demonstrates many issues of the time dramatically throughout each class.

“This man doesn’t just lecture; he performs.  He doesn’t just tell you about the Cold War bomb drills, he demonstrates from under a table,” Clark said of a typical class.

Smith also avoids forcing a connection between some of Dylan’s ambiguous lyrics to events of the ’60s. He makes sure not to press the events of the era with lyrics that do not fit. Smith is also open to classroom discussion. The class is powered by student interpretations and reactions, which are written weekly, about each album.

The course ends with a research paper on any subject that relates to the ’60s and the social issues of the day. The class will be offered again in the spring of 2008.

mongim1@lasalle.edu