October 19, 2007

Trouble Ahead? Despite Critics, UMass Class on Grateful Dead Keeps Truckin' On

The University of Massachusetts historian Robert Weir sees his new course as a means to bring alive the social and political history of the United States since World War II.

Stephen Balch, president of the National Association of Scholars, sees Mr. Weir’s class as the latest example of modern higher education pandering to consumers.

Regardless, Mr. Weir’s creation — listed in the UMass course catalogue as History 297D, “How Does the Song Go? The Grateful Dead as a Window Into American Culture” — is popular. It has 110 students, according to The Boston Globe, with many eagerly defending it as a serious treatment of a musical group that, for better or worse, played a central role in a critical period of the nation’s history.

Mr. Balch, according to the Globe, disagrees, seeing an undergraduate class on the Grateful Dead as evidence of a dumbing-down of academics by American colleges that in the past have offered courses on musical stars such as Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, and Madonna.

Although Amherst, Mass., is far from the Grateful Dead’s home base, in San Francisco, UMass this semester is the site of two courses and an academic symposium on the band, in large part because its longtime publicist, Dennis McNally, is a graduate of the university.

Larry Owens, a UMass history professor and past director of the graduate program in history, told the Globe that many colleagues appear willing to accept Mr. Weir’s class. Some professors, however, are withholding judgment until after next month’s symposium, he said. —Paul Basken

Comments

1. The politicans throwin’ stones.

   Too bad.

   — theron    Oct 19, 03:45 PM    #

2. The Dead as academic fodder? As Jerry might’ve said: WALSTIB
   Far, freakin’ out!!

   — barbara    Oct 19, 03:48 PM    #

3. Steely Dan said it best, “The things that pass for knowledge I can’t understand.”

   — Jim    Oct 19, 04:05 PM    #

4. Check out Professor Glenn Gass:
   http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/HomePages/032699/text/gass.htm
   http://www.music.indiana.edu/som/courses/rock/beatles.html

   — Kate Ellis    Oct 19, 07:11 PM    #

5. Has no one noticed the professor’s name? Coincidence or conspiracy?

   — Bob R.    Oct 19, 07:51 PM    #

6. How is the class structured? If it encourages students to think critically and be open to new ideas, it’s valuable. Too many classes are structured so that students only have to regurgitate what the professor has fed them. However, I would bet that most students who enroll in this class are already open to new ideas.

   — CE    Oct 19, 10:44 PM    #

7. Yeah, Mr. Basken should have acknowledged the strange name coincidence. There was a long running course on the Dead at UC Santa Cruz. Students would stand in the back and dance.

   — Roger Sideman    Oct 19, 11:14 PM    #

8. The Grateful Dead has inspired and changed the World in many ways. The power of music in culture has no better example than with the sociolocal impact of the Grateful Dead. The organic food movement began in the birth of the 60’s and flourished with the relentless touring magnitude of masses that arrived at a Dead Show. Environmentalism, Spiritualism, and Love for all to share and inspire. Worthy of Study, I would say so.

   — Dan    Oct 22, 06:49 PM    #

9. Looking forward to the conference!

   — K    Oct 30, 01:30 PM    #

10. Knowing Rob Weir (no not that Rob Weir, this Rob Weir) personally, I know the dedication he’s put into this class to make it an academic study, not a lightweight class. Three cheers for someone who can grab the attention of students with a subject that serves as a gateway to teaching them how to think.

    — Peter Porcupine    Nov 4, 09:05 PM    #

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