Modern History through Popular Music

Patricia Bolger

1. Title:

An outline of the last seventy five years, traced through the medium of popular music.

2.Duration:

The module is designed to last a minimum of twelve lessons. However, it is important to build some flexibility into this as, depending on how well the students' own musical tastes can be integrated into the aims/objectives, the module could last considerably longer than twelve lessons.

3. Aims/Objectives:

The general aims are:

  • To tap into the innate student interest in pop music and, in doing so, to develop awareness of the role played by popular music in modern History;
  • To use pop music as the springboard for learning about major social and cultural developments in the modern world;
  • To show students that History can be both relevant and fun for them.

On conclusion of the module, students should:

  • Have developed their historical research skills, particularly in the areas of oral source work;
  • Have a broad understanding of modern historical, political, social and cultural developments, with particular emphasis on those not covered by the current Junior Certificate History course.

4. Teaching and Learning Strategies:

The use of audio material and, when appropriate, video/DVD footage of pop musicians and their contemporary historical developments are central to this module. At all times, these should be used in conjunction with regular class work and project work. A very important strategy to be used in this module, particularly in the initial stages, is that of getting students to organise interviews with parents, grandparents etc who can shed light on the music and changes of the 1960s, 70s etc. Given the danger of student enthusiasm for music actually overwhelming the process of learning History, the gradual and collective construction of a class wall-chart (detailing the developments in music and history) is recommended as a reinforcement of learning and an opportunity for productive group work, including art work, too.

5. Content:

Allow at least a single lesson period for each of the following activities:

(a)Get students to identify favourite groups, songs etc of their own. This can become contentious, so be careful. Try particularly to get students to identify any pop stars who are recognised as fashion icons, political messengers, etc. As an exercise, get them each to interview three members of older generations before the next lesson, seeking names of stars and songs from the 1960s, '70s etc. You may be very surprised to find how knowledgeable teenagers are about this 'older' pop music.

(b)Collect the data from the students, by oral feedback or group work in class. The aim is to create a preliminary outline of musical tastes and, where possible, of songs and stars related to social/cultural/political change through the years. The school library or computer room, if internet-linked, can be used by students to verify the dates of songs etc, if another class period can be found.

(c)In the likelihood that all the information gathered to date will go no further back than the 1950s, a lesson on the earlier years of popular music can be useful. The origins of jazz in particular, including the early opposition from churches, Nazis etc can be interesting, especially if augmented by some audio-visual material in class.

(d)The role of popular music in war-time, particularly World War II (propaganda, Vera Lynn, Lili Marlene…), deserves another lesson, but no more than that. Don’t wait too long before getting to the more teenager-friendly music of the '50s.

(e)At least a class must be devoted to the origins of rock and roll. Of particular interest are things like the impact of Bill Haley and the Comets on the rise of Teddy Boys, the censorship of Elvis Presley's hips on the Ed Sullivan Show and the racist attacks on black singer Nat King Cole. Such events, particularly if supported by some video footage, can teach students a lot about 1950s society. If desired, another lesson or two could be added, concentrating on fashion etc and the development of the 'teenager' phenomenon. Film footage from such classics as 'Rebel Without a Cause' would be invaluable and is not difficult to come by.

(f)At this point in time, a lesson could be devoted to a game, ideally in the school library or computer room, as before. Play the song 'We didn't catch a fire' by Billy Joel. Give each student (or pair of students if class is large) a copy of a different verse in the song. Then give them twenty minutes to find out the year of the events described in their verse and to write one sentence about each of the five or six events/people mentioned in that verse. Offer a prize to the winners if you dare. Whenever students are working on their own like this, play pop music from the period (1950s and early 60s) fairly quietly in the background, provided there aren't other classes nearby.

(g)The 1960s. It's a fair bet that the interviews done by students with parents etc, indeed the students' own tastes too, will have already thrown up a lot of names of songs and stars. Your job from now is to channel this in to historical learning too. I recommend at least a class period, more if desired, on explaining the Beatles phenomenon. Use video footage, of them arriving in Ireland if you can get it, but above all, let the students hear the music. Focus on things like hair-styles, fashion, fans, but it is quite possible to introduce some social issues too, particularly using Lennon's peace crusade.

(h)Give America some time too. The Forrest Gump movie or soundtrack can be great here. Some focus on the likes of Dylan and Baez can tie in well with anti-Vietnam demonstrations, Civil Rights etc. Again, keep the music playing in the background whenever possible.

(i)At your discretion, it might be worth including a class or two on the drugs/music scene. Focus on the late 1960s/early 70s might include the rock festivals like Woodstock or the Isle of Wight and individuals like Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones. For fun, play Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven and see how widely the reaction of students can vary to one song.

(j)The early 1970s offers a great opportunity to investigate things like fashion and hairstyles. Parental interviews can be particularly interesting and good fun here. Focus on ‘glam rock’ will fascinate students, particularly in the way it emphasises how much tastes in clothes etc have (a) been influenced by pop stars and (b) changed in thirty years. Students will be absolutely amazed by the antics of such as Slade, the Bay City Rollers and Gary Glitter…The original video of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen will arouse interest as the first great music video and will invite interesting comparisons from students with modern videos.

(k)American material is again worth a look and listen in the 1970s – the arrival of the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel as social commentators on the impact of industrial decline, Vietnam etc merits both listening to their music and analysis of their lyrics, perhaps even as poems too. Songs like The River, Allentown and Goodnight Saigon are very useful.

(l)Although material can still be hard to come by, the Punk Rock phenomenon is worthy of a class, with the focus on its attack on established norms of behaviour, fashion and even on the ‘Establishment’ itself (British monarchy etc). The Sex Pistols and the Stranglers spring to mind as good material here, though some of the Boomtown Rats’ music, clothes and antics will arouse interest, with Bob Geldof still so well-known.

(m)Pop music as the conscience of its time has been an intermittent theme in earlier material. In the 1980s it moves centre stage with the Live Aid/Band Aid phenomenon.Video footage of the work of Geldof, Ure, Collins etc will raise some interesting debating points about the perceived ‘shallowness’ of pop stars.

Personally, I prefer to end my planned lessons there, in the late 1980s. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, it is getting a bit too close to today for any sort of historical analysis to be effected. More interesting, however, is the option of getting some or all of your students to ‘take up the story’ from there. They could be encouraged to ‘investigate’ more recent music, stars and (above all) the influences of pop music on social and political issues or recent years. The possibilities for projects, debates and oral presentations by students are obvious. The benefits of encouraging students to think more critically about what they listen to every day are just as important.

6. Assessment.

While it would be possible to assess this module by means of a written test, an audio test would be more fun and more relevant. Play excerpts from ten or twenty songs which have been considered during the classwork on the module and ask students to identify the event/issue the songs relate to.

As suggested previously, this topic offers great opportunities for assessment by means of students’own oral presentations or project work. Another option, but involving a lot of work, is a table quiz on the music and related historical events which have been studied.

7. Resources.

Encyclopaediae offer the easiest resource material on this topic. The best I found were the likes of Encarta or Britannica on CD Rom because they offered easiest access, illustrations and, sometimes, audio material. The Chronicle of the Twentieth Century in either book or CD Rom form is also very useful, particularly using the index.

I don’t use a lot of specialised music books for my material, mainly because they tend to concentrate on the music (unsurprisingly) and not enough on the historical/social issues.

Naturally, tapes/CDs of the various songs and singers/groups are a must. If you don’t have some you need, try other staff members. Failing that, ask the students to try at home – it almost never fails. The demise of ‘Napster’ has made obtaining copies of songs from the Internet more difficult but it is still possible to obtain lyrics and sometimes good historical material. Just find a good search engine, like Yahoo or Google, and type in the name of a group or song in the Search box.

Video material is important. Forrest Gump is important and widely available. There are occasionally documentaries on TV, like ‘Reeling in the Years’, which can provide excellent material.

Finally, perhaps the best resource you have is your students. They will amaze you with the material they have themselves, have no fear.

8. Links to Other Subjects.

Music is an obvious one. However, keep in mind that pop songs are essentially ‘poetry’ of sorts too, so the opportunities in English are substantial. Sometimes, language teachers may like to get involved too, introducing students to the delights of French, German etc songs. Always try to keep the ‘History’ focus, though.

9. Evaluation.

Put simply, just watch how your students react to the topic!