Indiana University- The School of Music

The Music of Bob Dylan: An examination of Bob Dylan's astonishing songs and an overview of his endlessly fascinating career. The course traces his many incarnations and reinventions, from his early days as a folk-protest singer and pop icon to his current and still vital role as elder statesman and Poet Laureate of popular music.

The Music of The Beatles: An in-depth, song-by-song look at the music, lives and times of this extraordinary group and songwriting partnership. Offered at Indiana University since 1982, the course focuses on the Beatles' music and is aimed at heightening student listening skills as well as fostering a deeper appreciation for the Beatles' remarkable recordings. The music is supplemented by a multimedia course companion that provides biographical information, audio and video clips and a closer look at the Beatles' songwriting and recording process

The Music of Frank Zappa: to explore the musical, political, social, and cultural aspects of the life and work of American composer Frank Zappa (1940-1993).

Jimi Hendrix: Trace Hendrix’s musical roots through rare videos and audio with rock archivist Steven Roby. For the past 30 years, Roby has uncovered lost gems like Hendrix jamming with Little Richard and actress Jayne Mansfield. Learn the real story behind “Purple Haze,” and why Hendrix was banned from the BBC. Read court transcripts from the 1969 Toronto drug bust and examine his F.B.I. files. Discover Hendrix's unreleased autobiographical sci-fi rock opera, and hear of projects with jazz legends Miles Davis, Roland Kirk and Gil Evans. Debate the controversy over Hendrix's death in 1970. Guest speakers will be announced.

Integrative Arts: INART 200 is composed of eight chronologically arranged units of study that trace Elvis Presley's life; accomplishments; the significance of his art; his influence as a performer, recording artist, and motion picture star; and , perhaps most important, his place as a force and symbol of social/cultural change in the second half of the 20th century. Elvis was the principal symbol of change in a time when change was all-important. He was the first of the great rock and roll superstars, a herald of the cultural revolution of the 1960s, and the central figure in the musical revolution that brought rock and roll into the popular mainstream. He was - and is - the King of Rock and Roll and his place and importance in the cultural history of the twentieth century can never be overstated or exaggerated.

Bob Marley and the Globalization of Jamaican Popular Music: The 1972 partnership of British-based Island Records and reggae icon Bob Marley signaled a new and important presence in the international pop music world and a rising voice of Pan-African consciousness. The commercial viability of reggae led to the globalization of a music culture with a complex semiotics and particularity to Jamaican society. Musically and sociologically, the influence of ska, reggae, Jamaican DJ culture, and Rastafarianism has been a significant factor in multiple continents, creating a web of relationships between communities in Jamaica, the United States, Great Britain, and many countries in Africa. This course will utilize the music and life of Bob Marley to generate a number of questions about the role of popular music in globalization and the creation, continuation, and challenging of racial and ethnic identities

THE TEXTUAL APPEAL OF TUPAC SHAKUR: This course explores the literary-historical influences present in the work of late poet and hip hop artist Tupac Shakur. We will look at a variety of texts, including Sun Tzu's "The Art of War," Machiavelli's "The Prince," Frantz Fanon's "Wretched of the Earth" as well as various selections from the works of Huey P. Newton and Antonio Gramsci. We will read these texts alongside Tupac's lyrics in an effort to understand the 'theory of being' proposed by his work. Two primary goals will govern the overall structure of the course: 1) we will situate Tupac's thinking about race, culture, economics and national belonging within a larger historical framework, and 2) we will critically engage the significance of religious and military allusions and metaphors throughout his work.

so have classes similar to these at my college, and so many students learn to apprecitate these artists after taking the courses