Good Learnin’: David Gans To Teach Grateful Dead Course For Stanford University

Stanford University’s Continuing Studies program is offering a six-week online course focusing on the Grateful Dead entitled “Psychedelia and Groove: The Music and Culture of the Grateful Dead” from January 22 – March 4, 2024.

The class will be taught by David Gans, the author of several books on the band as well as host of the nationally syndicated Grateful Dead Hour radio show since 1985 and co-host of SiriusXM’s Tales From The Golden Road since 2008.

Registration is currently open with tuition set at $405. While each 110-minute class will be conducted live on Zoom Mondays from 7 – 8:50 p.m. PT, class sessions will also be recorded. Gans has recruited guest speakers to join him for a least five of the classes with journalist and David’s fellow GD historian Steve Silberman among them.

A description of “Psychedelia and Groove: The Music and Culture of the Grateful Dead” on Stanford’s website reads:

The Grateful Dead’s groundbreaking fusion of music, counterculture, and community engagement forged an enduring legacy that transcends generations while shaping the evolution of music and cultural expression. Fresh off the farewell performance of Dead & Company in San Francisco in July, this course invites students to delve into the phenomenon that is the Grateful Dead through a captivating exploration of the band’s history, music, and cultural impact.

The course will start by tracing the band’s evolution, from its humble beginnings to its legendary status as one of the most influential bands in music history. We will explore the band’s formation, the early San Francisco music scene, its unique approach to touring, and the various eras of its existence. We’ll next embark on a sonic journey through the band’s diverse and ever-evolving musical catalog. Students will dissect the distinctive blend of rock, folk, blues, and improvisation that defined the Grateful Dead’s sound.

Finally, we’ll examine the band’s cultural impact on society, diving into the band’s connection to art, literature, and social change, as well as its unique fan culture and the phenomenon of the “Deadhead.” By the end of the course, students will have a well-rounded appreciation for the roots, struggles, and milestones that shaped the Grateful Dead’s trajectory, an understanding of its profound impact on music and culture, and insight into a legacy that still resonates deeply today.

Participants are asked to read at least one of three recommended textbooks for the course: Blair Jackson & David Gans’ This Is All a Dream We Dreamed: An Oral History of the Grateful Dead, Peter Richardson’s No Simple Highway: A Cultural History of the Grateful Dead and Dennis McNally’s A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead.

Head to Stanford’s website to sign up or for more information.