PUNK!

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Seminar/Course, upper division

Course Description

An exploration of the history and legacy of the 1970’s Punk movement in the U.S. and England, with discussions on politics, art, social conditions, fashion, and music. While focusing on artistic production, discussions will also include topics more commonly covered in history, philosophy, and sociology courses.

Course Format

Lecture and discussion, including image music, and video presentations. Discussion will be the primary element of the class. Students will be doing a variety of research and presentation projects.

Course Objectives

Students will be able to discuss the ways in which pop culture, politics, and art intersected to create the subculture of Punk.

Students will be able to discuss the 20th century art movements of Dada, Futurism, Constuctivism, and Pop Art, and their relationship with Punk.

Students will be able to discuss the influence of Punk on current culture.

Students will develop basic visual and information literacy skills.

Students will develop their skills in writing and debate, and will explore creative ways to present information and ideas.

Students will develop and practice expressing their own opinions and individual points of view, while respecting those of others.

Text - excerpts from:

+ Belisto & Davis. Hardcore California: a history of punk and new wave. Last Gasp, 1983
+ Belsito et al. Street Art: the punk poster in San Francisco, 1977-1982. Last Gasp, 1981.
+ Bessy, Claude, et al. Forming: the early days of L.A. punk. Smart Art, 2000.
+ Hebdige. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. Routledge, 1981.
+ McCaffrey, Larry, ed. Storming The Reality Studio. Duke, 1991.
+ McNeil & McCain. Please Kill Me. Grove, 1996.
+ Sabin, ed. Punk Rock: So What! The cultural legacy of punk. Routledge, 1999.
+ Savage. England’s Dreaming. St. Martins, 1992.
+ Spitz & Mullen. We Got The Neutron Bomb: the untold story of L.A. Punk. Three Rivers, 2001.
+ Sturken & Cartwright. Practices of Looking: and introduction to visual culture. Oxford, 2001.
+ Turcotte & Miller. Fucked Up + Photocopied: instant art of the punk rock movement. Gingko, 2000?
+ Vaucher. Crass Art and Other Pre Post-Modernist Monsters. AK, 1999.
+ Misc. zines and album notes
+ Extensive music selections
+ Video selections will include excerpts from: DIY, Undefining Punk, Suburbia, The Filth and the Fury, The Decline of Western Civilization, The BLO Nightly News, Videodrome, Mad Max, Blade Runner.

Sample Topic Sections

How to Read the Artistic Culture
Information literacy, visual culture

The Roots of Dissension
Dada, Futurism, Constructivism, Pop Art, Fluxus,

Making the Scene in the 60’s
Glam, Hippies, and Heroin Chic USA
Mods, Teds, and Rude Boys UK

Reggae and Dub

Triple Threat
New York = Art
London = Politics
Los Angeles = Pop Culture

DIY – Do It Yourself
Music: sound and fury in three chords, indie labels, reggae
Visual images: dada, futurists, pop art, situationists, mailart, fluxus
Fashion/body decoration: anti-beauty, bricolage
Performance Art: survival research laboratories,
Writing: zines, cyberpunk, comix, independent publishing
Politics: anarchy

American Hardcore: into the 80’s
Piss and Politics
California

Postmodernism & Postpunk: post- or pre- apocalypse
Cyberpunk
Slice and Dice: Borrough’s Cut Ups, Sampling

Sample Assignments

“What’s happening?”
Research information on what was happening in pop culture, politics, and economics, in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Each student will research one topic and will present their findings briefly to the class. Inclusion of photos, art, or music as examples is encouraged.

Flyer
Make a “flyer” using found images and text to convey a social or political idea. The final piece should be photocopied on a letter-size sheet of paper, so design accordingly. While computers may be used, keep in mind the examples shown in class and realize that they’re not necessary. These will be turned in after we have a showing in class.

Offended?
Write a 1-2 page summary of your feelings on a topic presented in class that you found offensive. Also write about what you think the producer of the material intended to convey with their use of this material (i.e. is there any redeeming value?). The issue will then be discussed in class, with students using their written papers as starting points for the discussion.

“Question Authority”
Choose an independent research topic based on your own interest in class material, in other words, follow your curiosity. You’ll turn in a short paper, 2-3 pages, and also briefly present the information to the class. These presentations will occur throughout the semester, but only one or two per class session (depending on the size of the class). The important element to this assignment is for you to follow your curiosity, to look further into the material you are introduced to in the class. This could involve further investigation of a specific artist, art movement, band, political or social ideology, or any connection or tangent you notice in the material. This is not intended to be a big research project, but to encourage you to follow up on ideas that interest you.