From the 1960s through the 2020s, the songs of Bob Dylan have fascinated and inspired audiences across the world. Drawing upon a vast range of American musical traditions — folk ballads, blues laments, country songs, slave spirituals, gospel hymns, cowboy serenades, mountain music, Tejano, Creole, and rock and roll — Dylan’s work offers a remarkable entry point into the history of American musical culture. Dylan’s lyrical style channels an equally wide range of literary and poetic traditions. His work echoes the voices of Whitman, Dickinson, Ginsberg, Kerouac, Pound, Ferlinghetti, Sandburg, and countless others. Dylan moves fluidly through the worlds of the Romantics, the Beats, the folk revival, protest movements, gospel traditions, surrealism, and vernacular storytelling.  This course will explore Dylan as a songwriter, performer, and a cultural figure. Over three weeks we will sample the songs, styles, contradictions and myths surrounding this extraordinary American artist.

Dr. John O’Hara is chair of the Master of Arts in American Studies program at Stockton University. He has taught a course on Bob Dylan at Stockton since 2017 and recently appeared as a guest speaker at the 3rd annual World of Bob Dylan international conference hosted by the Bob Dylan Center at the University of Tulsa, OK. Along with students, he has produced Stockton’s Bob Dylan Fest, an day-long concert event featuring student, faculty and staff performers celebrating Bob Dylan’s music.

Click on the event title to register. Tuition for each SILL course is $45. 
Courses are FREE for residents age 60+ who live in Atlantic County.