ENG 270 Bob Dylan: American Poet

All winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature deserve a course of their own, perhaps—but only Bob Dylan has one at Lane. In 2016 the Nobel Committee awarded Dylan the prize "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." In this literature course, we examine the relationship between texts and the traditions from which they sprout: Dylan’s masterful songs have deep roots in American blues, English and American folk songs, British Romantic poetry, and even Greek and Roman classics. How poems work, the relationship between sound/song and lyrics, and the possibilities of meaning in Dylan’s work are our main themes.

Credits

4

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Distinguish between connotation and denotation in investigating meaning in texts
2. Use interpretive frameworks to investigate contextual meanings of literature
3. Understand the roles of text and context as the bases of supporting a literary interpretation
4. Contribute to collaborative learning projects and small group discussions
5. Understand Dylan’s relationship to American musical traditions, American history, and contemporary American society
6. Appreciate and understand shifts in academic canonicity, and the value of song as literature