Infinity Goes Up On Trial (+)
A focus on ideas central to the depth of Bob Dylan’s music, art, and writing in a broader social, cultural, and political context. Discussing these concepts with scholars, artists, educators, activists, and myriad experts, we explore how Dylan’s ideas reflect and encompass all aspects of human existence.
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Erin Callahan
Erin Callahan teaches English at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, where she has been a faculty member since 2007. She completed her Ph.D. in Modern History and Literature at Drew University in 2014, writing her dissertation on Bob Dylan’s identity construction and the American voice.
Erin is a regular contributor to The Dylantantes Substack and is co-editor of “The Politics and Power of Bob Dylan’s Live Performances: Play a Song for Me” with Court Carney, a collection of essays about Dylan’s live performances that was published by Routledge in 2023.
She has presented on Bob Dylan at many conferences, including ACA/PCA, “Bob Dylan in the 21st Century” in Arras, France, and The World of Bob Dylan, in Tulsa, Oklahoma 2019 and 2023.
From the beginning of his career, critics, scholars, and fans have attempted to define Bob Dylan’s identity. Countless interviews and biographies and even Dylan’s 2004 memoir Chronicles: Volume One include myths, half-truths, and obfuscations, leading to lingering questions. These questions are compounded by the public’s perception of him and public images of Dylan used to serve a particular agenda – most often associated with his early protest period. Indeed, public and historic figures’ identities have oft been altered, distilled, diluted, or corrupted through their representations in popular culture. In this episode, Court Carney and I discuss his forthcoming book on Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, identity construction and public memory, and how Bob Dylan’s identity has been constructed throughout his career.
Court is a cultural historian who writes on public memory. He is a full professor of history at Stephen F. Austin University where he teaches courses on Black history and American cultural history. He is the author of Cuttin Up: How Early Jazz Got America’s Ear and Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory will be released on September 17, 2024. He is the co-editor of The Politics and Power of Bob Dylan’s Live Performances, a collection of essayson Bob Dylan’s setlists and a forthcoming collection of essays reconsidering Dylan’s work in the 1980s.
A Video Version of this Episode is Available at TheFM.Club
Links:
- Court Carney, Ph.D.
- Reckoning with the Devil: Nathan Bedford Forrest in Myth and Memory: Carney, Court: 9780807171530: Amazon.com: Books
- Instagram: @court_carney
Substack: A Song and a Mood | Court Carney | Substack
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