Seminar: Theory and Methods of Music in the Media
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The seminar aims to foster critical thinking and in-depth exploration of a theoretical-methodological theme or a case study proposed by the lecturer, based on topics covered in the Theory and Methods of Music in the Media course and a shared bibliography. Conceived as a true intellectual "training ground," it offers students the opportunity to engage critically—both individually and
Expected learning outcomes
By the end of the seminar, students will have developed the tools to engage consciously and critically with academic literature, respond to specific research questions, formulate interpretative hypotheses, and cultivate analytical and argumentative skills within the context of musical media.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Giudizio di approvazione
Assessment result: superato/non superato
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
Bob Dylan's "Electric Turn" Through Its Mediatisations
Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival stands as one of the most symbolic and debated moments in U.S. popular culture. His decision to perform with an electric guitar marked a watershed in both his artistic career and in the broader perception of the relationship between folk and rock music, exposing the ideological and technological implications of sound mediation.
The resonance of this event has persisted for decades: it has been portrayed as a turning point in the history of American popular music and reappropriated by countercultural and subcultural movements — from punk and hip hop to electronic pop music — as a stepping stone for discourses on authenticity and its pitfalls. Within academia, Dylan's "electric turn" has also been interpreted as a lens through which to understand the foundational tensions behind disciplines emerging in the 1960s, such as ethnomusicology and popular music studies.
This seminar will explore how Dylan's "electric turn" has been represented and reimagined through media, focusing on films and documentaries that have constructed, deconstructed, and mythologized the event. These audiovisual representations — ranging from historical documentaries to recent biopics — offer new aesthetic and ideological readings of a legendary performance, showing how live music depends on mediation to be documented, remembered, and theorized.
Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival stands as one of the most symbolic and debated moments in U.S. popular culture. His decision to perform with an electric guitar marked a watershed in both his artistic career and in the broader perception of the relationship between folk and rock music, exposing the ideological and technological implications of sound mediation.
The resonance of this event has persisted for decades: it has been portrayed as a turning point in the history of American popular music and reappropriated by countercultural and subcultural movements — from punk and hip hop to electronic pop music — as a stepping stone for discourses on authenticity and its pitfalls. Within academia, Dylan's "electric turn" has also been interpreted as a lens through which to understand the foundational tensions behind disciplines emerging in the 1960s, such as ethnomusicology and popular music studies.
This seminar will explore how Dylan's "electric turn" has been represented and reimagined through media, focusing on films and documentaries that have constructed, deconstructed, and mythologized the event. These audiovisual representations — ranging from historical documentaries to recent biopics — offer new aesthetic and ideological readings of a legendary performance, showing how live music depends on mediation to be documented, remembered, and theorized.
Prerequisites for admission
In order to participate in the seminar, students must have attended the Theory and Methods of Music in the Media course in the current year or in previous years.
Teaching methods
Lectures and seminar exercises with guided discussions based on materials assigned for homework.
Teaching Resources
To be prepared before the seminar:
- Reading: Elijah Wald, Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night that Split the Sixties, HarperCollins, 2015; in particular, the following sections: Introduction; Chapters 8-11.
- Watching: No Direction Home (Martin Scorsese, 2005)
- Listening to: Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home (Columbia, 1965); Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia, 1965)
During the seminar, additional films (see Filmography) and records (see Discography) will be analysed, and further reading will be assigned.
The final activity will consist of curating a themed mini-film festival, presented by the students at a location to be determined.
Filmography covered:
- Dont Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker, 1967)
- Festival! (Murray Lerner, 1967)
- Eat the Document (Bob Dylan / D.A. Pennebaker, 1971)
- No Direction Home (Martin Scorsese, 2005)
- I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)
- A Complete Unknown (James Mangold, 2024)
Discography covered:
- Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home (Columbia, 1965)
- Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia, 1965)
- Bob Dylan, Blonde On Blonde (Columbia, 1966)
- The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The 'Royal Albert Hall' Concert (CBS Records, 1998)
Further reading:
- Alessandro Carrera, "Like a Rolling Stone. La lotta con il nemico interiore", in La voce di Bob Dylan, new ed., Milan: Feltrinelli, 2011, pp. 166-200.
- Maurizio Corbella, Live to Tell: Remediating Historical Performance in the Popular Music Biopic, 'IASPM@Journal," VII/1, 2017, pp. 29-54.
- Reading: Elijah Wald, Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night that Split the Sixties, HarperCollins, 2015; in particular, the following sections: Introduction; Chapters 8-11.
- Watching: No Direction Home (Martin Scorsese, 2005)
- Listening to: Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home (Columbia, 1965); Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia, 1965)
During the seminar, additional films (see Filmography) and records (see Discography) will be analysed, and further reading will be assigned.
The final activity will consist of curating a themed mini-film festival, presented by the students at a location to be determined.
Filmography covered:
- Dont Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker, 1967)
- Festival! (Murray Lerner, 1967)
- Eat the Document (Bob Dylan / D.A. Pennebaker, 1971)
- No Direction Home (Martin Scorsese, 2005)
- I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)
- A Complete Unknown (James Mangold, 2024)
Discography covered:
- Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home (Columbia, 1965)
- Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia, 1965)
- Bob Dylan, Blonde On Blonde (Columbia, 1966)
- The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The 'Royal Albert Hall' Concert (CBS Records, 1998)
Further reading:
- Alessandro Carrera, "Like a Rolling Stone. La lotta con il nemico interiore", in La voce di Bob Dylan, new ed., Milan: Feltrinelli, 2011, pp. 166-200.
- Maurizio Corbella, Live to Tell: Remediating Historical Performance in the Popular Music Biopic, 'IASPM@Journal," VII/1, 2017, pp. 29-54.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Final credits will be awarded based on the preparation of materials and individual contributions to classroom discussions and the organisation of the final event. Attendance is compulsory, with a tolerance of 20% absences.
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)
Reception:
Thursdays, 10:00-13:00, upon appointment. Meetings will either take place in presence or via Microsoft Teams.
Office of the professor, Via Noto 6 (1st floor)