Music, Media and the Counterculture, 1950–80

This course is an impressionistic history of coming of age in the tumultuous post-War years of the Twentieth Century. We use lecture, slide show, music and other media to examine the rise of the counterculture, the music that was its voice, and the media that brought together the artists and the audience. The counterculture became the dominant popular culture for 15 years or more and the music that was its voice was so creative we still today call it the Classic Era of Rock Music. It was a period of profound change in the music business, in media, and the social order. The class is available as three, four, five or six week sessions of 90 minutes each. Instructor James Pagliasotti was the first rock music columnist for The Denver Post, worked in freeform radio, and is the author of three books.