Feedback Poll for Panel Discussion #3: SF as a Foreign Language AND Lecture #3 — “The Beats and the Hippies” (plus reading materials)
Here is the poll for the most recent panel discussion. Click on the link to provide feedback. Remember, providing feedback is a form of class participation and will reflect positively on your grade!
Here is the(partial) MP3 lecture #3 — “The Beats and the Hippies.” I could have talked about more, such as the role the Beats and Hippies played in the growth of the environmental movement, the Hippies and the Vietnam War protest movement (and the Woodstock Music Festival), and religious ideas explored by the Beats and their relationship to American religion. However, I wanted to stay focused on the connections between these movements, and their specifically youth-culture elements.
Here’s are some links to videos of Ginsberg reading his poems “America” and “Howl” (part 1 | part 2 | part 3), both of which are included in your readings pack.
In addition, feel free to check out Jack Kerouac reading from his novel On the Road, this conversation between Ginsberg and Neal Cassady, and William S. Burroughs reading from Junkie, his novel about drug addicts in New York City.
I encourage you to read more on your own about the issues I didn’t touch upon. However, I will direct your attention to the following texts specifically, which will be of use for class discussion:
- When the Beats. Became Hippies, by Steve Silberman. (A review of a book by Debora Baker about the Beats and their travels in India, touching on the interest, among Beats, in non-Western religious traditions and culture.)
- An interesting article on German precursors to the American hippie movement (showing elements not directly related to the Beats).
- A more general primer on hippie culture, in the 60s and today, from the point of view of a sympathetic writer (who may or may not be a hippie).
- An interesting comment on the unrepeatability of the Beat Movement, with lots of great links to check out.
Optional Readings:
- There are some texts from the Beat movement available here.
- Here’s the University of Adelaide’s resource center on the Beats.