Beatniks, Hippies, and Cool
8:00 Seminar
This course investigates the question “What is a Good Society?” through exploration of the cultural and musical climate in San Francisco, California from 1945 to 1970. The musical products of this time and place were influenced by a worldview that was critical of the mainstream concept of a “Good Society” and played a significant part in expressing opposition to this view and in suggesting alternatives to it. The formation of both individual and group identity in a Good Society will be critically examined through the analysis of the ideas of “Beat” poets and philosophers, West Coast Jazz, and Psychedelic rock music created in, and influenced by, San Francisco from 1945 to 1970.