The Beatles in Academia: Reflections on Teaching Popular Music in Higher Education

Authors

Chris Gable, University of North DakotaFollow

Document Type

Video

Publication Date

10-19-2023

Abstract

Since The Beatles broke up in 1970, they have become a cultural institution, with tourist sites in Liverpool, Hamburg, and London, countless fictionalized and documentary films, and even a Cirque du Soleil show dedicated to their music in Las Vegas. Their influence has especially reached the academic world, as they were one of the first pop groups to be “taken seriously” by college professors in the late 1960s. Since then the field of Beatles Studies has come into its own; one can even get a graduate degree in the topic from the University of Liverpool.

In this lecture, Dr. Christopher Gable, Teaching Associate Professor in the Music Department, reflects on his recent experience teaching a seminar on the band, and reports on his presentation in April at the Popular Culture Association National Conference in San Antonio.

Recommended Citation

Chris Gable. "The Beatles in Academia: Reflections on Teaching Popular Music in Higher Education" (2023). Randy Rasmussen Memorial Lecture Series. 3.
https://commons.und.edu/rr-lecture-series/3