Studying the Dead: The Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus, An Informal History

by Nicholas G. Meriwether (Editor)

Overview

Although academic study of the Grateful Dead began shortly after the group’s formation, the dramatic growth of scholarly literature only occurred after the band’s formal retirement of the name in 1995. One major incubator of much of this work has been the Grateful Dead area of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association. Inaugurated as a separate section in 1998 and nicknamed the Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus, it has produced almost three hundred papers over fifteen years, nearly a third of which have been revised for publication. Caucus presenters have also edited a dozen books and periodical volumes, all of which have drawn on Caucus presentations, some almost exclusively.

Studying the Dead: The Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus provides an informal history of the Caucus and sketches its significance as a scholarly community, focusing on its increasing self-awareness, its ability to span diverse disciplinary and theoretical perspectives, and most of all, its contribution to our understanding of the Grateful Dead phenomenon. For the academy as a whole, the Caucus is a fascinating model for the development of discourse communities, from the role of orality to its interrogation of the texts that are derived from them.

Remarkable for its interdisciplinary dialogue, the Caucus demonstrates how the nature of the art—and the phenomenon that it studies—can shape these discourses. Though ostensibly aimed at scholars of the Grateful Dead, others who will find this book of interest include students and teachers of popular culture, as well as fans of the band.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810891241
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/11/2013
Pages:	334
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Nicholas G. Meriwether is the Grateful Dead archivist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the editor of Reading the Grateful Dead: A Critical Survey (Scarecrow Press, 2012).

Table of Contents

Foreword Steven Gimbel ix

Preface xiii

Introduction: "If My Words Did Glow": Discoursing the Grateful Dead 1

The Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus: Fifteen Years of a Discourse Community 15

I Voices 31

1 "The Sound of Thick Air": The Grateful Dead as Experimental Composers Eric F. Levy 33

2 The Taoist Perspective in "Weather Report Suite" Melinda Belleville 45

3 "In and Out of the Garden": Sacred and Profane in the Grateful Dead Phenomenon Mary Goodenough 53

4 Who Is Dionysus and Why Does He Keep Following Me Everywhere? Stanley J. Spector 63

5 The Grateful Dead Parallax James A. Tuedio 73

6 "Sometimes You Get Shown the Light": An Ethnographer's Meditation on Boundaries, Barriers, and Awareness Natalie J. Dollar 83

7 Remembering the Dead: Prologue to a Memoir Lans Smith 93

8 "Trouble with You Is the Trouble with Me": Authenticity, Vitality, and Tribute Bands in the Age of Mechanical Convergence Matthew C. Armstrong 101

II Conversations 111

9 Coming Out to Raise the Dead: The First Caucus Robert G. Weiner 113

10 Deadhead Word Jam: The Second Caucus 117

11 By Popular Demand: The Third Caucus Mary Goodenongh 121

12 "Raise That Flag": The Fourth Caucus Nicholas G. Meriwether 125

13 "Got to Callin' It Home": The Fifth Caucus Nicholas G. Meriwether 131

14 "With Thought Jewels Polished and Gleaming": The Sixth Caucus Nicholas G. Meriwether 135

15 "Spinning That Curious Sense of Our Own": The Seventh Caucus Nicholas G. Meriwether 143

16 Shall We Go?": The Eighth Caucus Christian Crumlish 153

17 "Never Had Such a Good Time": The Ninth Caucus Nicholas G. Meriwether 159

18 "When the Secrets All Are Told": The Tenth Caucus 167

19 "Seeking All That's Still Unsung": The Eleventh Caucus 181

20 "More Than Words Can Tell": The Twelfth Caucus 193

21 "Can't Talk to You without Talking to Me": The Thirteenth Caucus 207

22 "The Secret of This Tie That Binds": The Fourteenth Caucus 221

23 "All the Years Combine": The Fifteenth Caucus 237

Conclusion: "Together, More or Less in Line": Improvising Interdisciplinarity in Grateful Dead Studies 255

Appendix 1 "Head through the Thickets": Unbroken Chain, The First Grateful Dead Academic Symposium 275

Appendix 2 A Selected Checklist of Grateful Dead Studies 285

The Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus Area Chairs 293

Credits 295

Index 299

About the Contributors 313

About the Editor 317

Editorial Reviews

Meriwether's Studying the Dead joins the increasingly crowded arena of popular music scholarship. That having been said, the volume is meticulously researched and far exceeds popular music frivolity. As the Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus demonstrates, serious scholarship on the Grateful Dead's output has entered the canon. Meriwether (archivist, McHenry Library, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz) enlisted several Grateful Dead heavyweights, and the resulting discourse is exhaustive and insightful. Contributors are heavily published Grateful Dead scholars, and their research is clear, concise, and probing. Part 1, 'Voices,' encapsulates the types of Dead research that has been ongoing for the past 20 years. Part 2, 'Conversations,' comprises detailed discussions of the first 15 Grateful Dead Scholars Caucuses dating back to 1998. This second section culminates in a chapter containing the abstracts from the 13th caucus, held in 2010 as part of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association Conference. The bibliography and indexing are thorough. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

Choice Reviews

Meriwether's Studying the Dead joins the increasingly crowded arena of popular music scholarship. That having been said, the volume is meticulously researched and far exceeds popular music frivolity. As the Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus demonstrates, serious scholarship on the Grateful Dead's output has entered the canon. Meriwether (archivist, McHenry Library, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz) enlisted several Grateful Dead heavyweights, and the resulting discourse is exhaustive and insightful. Contributors are heavily published Grateful Dead scholars, and their research is clear, concise, and probing. Part 1, 'Voices,' encapsulates the types of Dead research that has been ongoing for the past 20 years. Part 2, 'Conversations,' comprises detailed discussions of the first 15 Grateful Dead Scholars Caucuses dating back to 1998. This second section culminates in a chapter containing the abstracts from the 13th caucus, held in 2010 as part of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association Conference. The bibliography and indexing are thorough. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

CHOICE

Meriwether's Studying the Dead joins the increasingly crowded arena of popular music scholarship. That having been said, the volume is meticulously researched and far exceeds popular music frivolity. As the Grateful Dead Scholars Caucus demonstrates, serious scholarship on the Grateful Dead's output has entered the canon. Meriwether (archivist, McHenry Library, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz) enlisted several Grateful Dead heavyweights, and the resulting discourse is exhaustive and insightful. Contributors are heavily published Grateful Dead scholars, and their research is clear, concise, and probing. Part 1, 'Voices,' encapsulates the types of Dead research that has been ongoing for the past 20 years. Part 2, 'Conversations,' comprises detailed discussions of the first 15 Grateful Dead Scholars Caucuses dating back to 1998. This second section culminates in a chapter containing the abstracts from the 13th caucus, held in 2010 as part of the Southwest/Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association Conference. The bibliography and indexing are thorough. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.

Choice