Teaching Bob Dylan
"Multitudes"
Published on 30. April 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
278 pages
979-8-7651-0507-8 (ISBN)
Description
Teaching Bob Dylan offers educators practical, adaptable strategies for designing or updating courses (or units within courses) on the life, music, career, and critical reception of Bob Dylan. Drawing on the latest pedagogical developments and best classroom practices in a range of fields, the contributors present concrete approaches for teaching not only Dylan's lyrics and music, but also his many-and sometimes abrupt or unexpected-changes in musical direction, numerous creative guises, and writings. Situating Dylan and his work in their musical, literary, historical, and cultural contexts, the essays explore ways to teach Dylan's connections to African American music and performers, American popular music, the Beats, Christianity, and the revolutions of the 1960s, and more, and offer strategies for incorporating, and analyzing, not only documentaries and films about or featuring Dylan, but also critical and biographical studies on multiple dimensions of an American icon's long and complex career.
Reviews / Votes
If only I had had this book when I began teaching college courses on Bob Dylan in the 1990s, my job would have been a whole lot easier. An invaluable resource! * Seth Rogovoy, author of Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet (2009) and Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison (2024) * It's been a long time since 'Blowin' in the Wind,' but the generational talent of Bob Dylan continues to speak to us of what is past, or passing, or to come. Barry Faulk and Brady Harrison have gathered a range of scholars and educators to consider some of the ways in which Dylan's work can be used to understand modern America in all its diversity and contradiction. The book is wide-ranging, multi-focused, and accessibly written; it also contains a generous archive of sources which can be used to take Dylan's legacy to the next generation. Among all the hagiography and theorization, Teaching Bob Dylan is an essential contribution to Dylan Studies. * Gerry Smyth, Professor, Liverpool John Moores University, UK * Teaching Bob Dylan is an essential tool for educators that reinforces the importance of the Humanities. The collection's essays masterfully explain how Dylan's life and work help students engage with, investigate, and understand the complexities of American history and culture and their place in it. Through a multitude of pedagogical approaches, leading Dylan scholars share their experiences and practical lesson plans for readers to adopt or adapt to fit their curriculum and institutional needs. This book is the definitive resource on incorporating Dylan in the classroom. * Erin C. Callahan, Professor of English, San Jacinto College, Texas, USA, and editor of The Politics and Power of Bob Dylan's Live Performances (2023) * As a writer, artist, performer, icon, and now Nobel laureate, Bob Dylan is among the most influential figures in modern America, but still we struggle to bring his enigmatic work into our classrooms. This innovative collection gathers an outstanding group of scholar-teachers from different fields and institutions to provide a masterclass on teaching Dylan's music. Sparkling with innovation yet deeply rooted in the contemporary classroom realities, Teaching Bob Dylan not only offers invaluable guidance to teachers, but insists, page-by-page, on the fundamental importance of Dylan's work to our cultural past and future. * Sean Latham, Walter Professor of English and Director of the Institute for Bob Dylan Studies *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
407 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-7651-0507-8 (9798765105078)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
09/2024
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic USA
€32.99
Available for download
E-Book
09/2024
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic USA
€32.99
Available for download
Persons
Barry J. Faulk is Professor of English at Florida State University, USA. He is the author of British Rock Modernism, 1967-1977 (2013) and Music-hall and Modernity (2004), and he is co-editor, with Brady Harrison, of Punk Rock Warlord: The Life and Work of Joe Strummer (2016).
Brady Harrison is Professor of English at the University of Montana, USA. He is co-editor of Teaching Western American Literature (2020) and co-editor, with Barry J. Faulk, of Punk Rock Warlord: The Life and Work of Joe Strummer (2016).
Brady Harrison is Professor of English at the University of Montana, USA. He is co-editor of Teaching Western American Literature (2020) and co-editor, with Barry J. Faulk, of Punk Rock Warlord: The Life and Work of Joe Strummer (2016).
Content
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Bob Dylan, Teacher
Barry J. Faulk, Florida State University, USA, and Brady Harrison, University of Montana, USA
Part I. Origins & Ways of Making
1. Teaching Bob Dylan's Voice and the Old, Weird America
John Mac Kilgore, Florida State University, USA
2. Bob Dylan and Conceptual Blending
Michael Booth, University College Cork, Ireland
Part II. Dylan & History
3. Teaching the "Revolutions" of the 1960s through Bob Dylan
David R. Shumway, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
4. Bob Dylan and the Expansion of the History Classroom
Court Carney, Stephen F. Austin State University, USA
Part III. Love & Theft
5. Teaching the Gospel
Lauren Onkey, George Washington University, USA
6. The World of Bob Dylan
Gayle Wald, George Washington University, USA
7. Teaching the Roots of Bob Dylan as a Mode of Cultural Self-Reflection in the Classroom: Early Rock and Roll and Hip-Hop
Robert Reginio, Alfred University, USA
Part IV. Dylan & Literary Studies
8. On the Road (Again) with Bob Dylan, A Poet among (Beat) Poets
S.E. Gontarski, Florida State University, USA
9. Mixing Up the Medicine: A Course on Bob Dylan and the Beats
Paul Haney, Emerson College, USA
10. Romances with Durango: Teaching Bob Dylan's Encounter with Mexican Culture
Robert Hurd, Anne Arundel Community College, USA
Part V. Dylan Beyond the Songs
11. Teaching Chronicles
Graley Herren, Xavier University, USA
12. Bob Dylan and Documentary Film
Leigh H. Edwards, Florida State University, USA
Part VI. Afterword
Why Teach Dylan?
Richard F. Thomas, Harvard University, USA
Appendix A: Contributor Syllabi
Appendix B: Course Materials
List of Contributors
Index
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Bob Dylan, Teacher
Barry J. Faulk, Florida State University, USA, and Brady Harrison, University of Montana, USA
Part I. Origins & Ways of Making
1. Teaching Bob Dylan's Voice and the Old, Weird America
John Mac Kilgore, Florida State University, USA
2. Bob Dylan and Conceptual Blending
Michael Booth, University College Cork, Ireland
Part II. Dylan & History
3. Teaching the "Revolutions" of the 1960s through Bob Dylan
David R. Shumway, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
4. Bob Dylan and the Expansion of the History Classroom
Court Carney, Stephen F. Austin State University, USA
Part III. Love & Theft
5. Teaching the Gospel
Lauren Onkey, George Washington University, USA
6. The World of Bob Dylan
Gayle Wald, George Washington University, USA
7. Teaching the Roots of Bob Dylan as a Mode of Cultural Self-Reflection in the Classroom: Early Rock and Roll and Hip-Hop
Robert Reginio, Alfred University, USA
Part IV. Dylan & Literary Studies
8. On the Road (Again) with Bob Dylan, A Poet among (Beat) Poets
S.E. Gontarski, Florida State University, USA
9. Mixing Up the Medicine: A Course on Bob Dylan and the Beats
Paul Haney, Emerson College, USA
10. Romances with Durango: Teaching Bob Dylan's Encounter with Mexican Culture
Robert Hurd, Anne Arundel Community College, USA
Part V. Dylan Beyond the Songs
11. Teaching Chronicles
Graley Herren, Xavier University, USA
12. Bob Dylan and Documentary Film
Leigh H. Edwards, Florida State University, USA
Part VI. Afterword
Why Teach Dylan?
Richard F. Thomas, Harvard University, USA
Appendix A: Contributor Syllabi
Appendix B: Course Materials
List of Contributors
Index