Many of the iconic images from Dylan’s early career, those which have shaped the public’s perception of him, depict him playing in a Greenwood, Mississippi, field with Pete Seeger, alongside civil rights volunteers, at the Newport Folk Festival, and during the March on Washington before Martin Luther King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. Indeed, Dylan’s songs have been the catalyst for many people’s political and social awakenings reinforcing his place in American cultural history. During an October 1997 press conference in London, Dylan said of older songs, “Everything momentous that happened in history was defined in a song. That’s not so anymore.”[1] Perhaps that’s true. However, in addition to being a historical figure himself, Dylan is a student of history, weaving together musical and lyrical threads throughout his canon and using specific events to reflect collective human experiences. In this episode, historian Court Carney talks about his work, courses he teaches on Bob Dylan as a historian, and myriad other topics touching Bob Dylan.
Bio:
Originally from San Antonio, Court Carney is a historian whose work sits at the intersection of music, memory, and American culture. A Professor of History at Stephen F. Austin State University, he earned his PhD from Louisiana State University and is the author of two university-press books—Cuttin’ Up: How Early Jazz Got America’s Ear and Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory—as well as co-editor of The Politics and Power of Bob Dylan’s Live Performances and the forthcoming Bob Dylan in the 1980s: A Reconsideration. His work explores American cultural memory, music history, and the ways people use songs, images, and monuments to make meaning from the past.
Links:
https://www.courtcarney.com/
https://www.amazon.com/Reckoning-Devil-Nathan-Bedford-Forrest/dp/0807171530
https://teachingwoodycollective.com/
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[1] Dylan, Bob. London Press Conference. Metropolitan Hotel. London, England, 4 October 1997.
