*This registration item is for ZOOM. You may not attend this course in the building. DO NOT also register for the Hybrid section of this course.*

Optional Text: Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties by Elijah Wald, ISBN 9780062366696

Extended Description:

The Bob Dylan biopic, “A complete unknown”, inspired by Elijah Wald’s book, “Dylan goes electric: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the night that split the 60s” has led to renewed interest in Dylan, and in particular, his emergence and evolving personas as a music and cultural icon in Greenwich Village in the 1960s. This course will begin with a discussion and analysis of the movie, focusing on the script, some central scenes, including how for purposes of storytelling it diverges from the historical record. For example, the movie presents Dylan as more well-formed than he was.  Dylan could not have written, "Girl from the North Country" in 1961.  He needed exposure to the English tradition.  The movie will provide the framing for five subsequent classes that examine Dylan before he moved to the Village, his emergence as a performer and songwriter in 1961 and 1962, and his evolution, focusing on his performances in Newport in 1963-1965.

The second class will focus on Dylan before he came to the Village, the Village scene in the late 50s and early 60s, and the role that Newport and Seeger played in the folk revival.  Much of this material is covered beautifully in Elijah Wald's book and a more recent book on music in the village.  The third class will focus on Dylan's first year in the village, where he honed his craft and began to emerge as a somewhat divisive star in the folk scene. That class will end with Dylan's coronation at the 1963 Newport.  The fourth and fifth classes will cover Dylan's increasing alienation from the folk movement, his rejection of the labels “folk singer” and topical song writer, and his emergence as a mythic cultural hero as the tumult of the post- Kennedy-assassination years began. This class also covers his complicated relationship with Joan Baez and his performance at Newport in 1964.  The final class will focus on the events leading up to and including Dylan’s legendary performance at Newport in 1965.