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Second annual President’s Lecture on Music History and Contemporary America will feature guest lecturer Sean Wilentz

The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music (BSACAM) will hold its second annual President’s Lecture on Music History and Contemporary America on Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. in Pollak Theatre. This year, the event will focus on Bob Dylan with the acclaimed historian Sean Wilentz, who will present his lecture titled, “‘I Don’t Write Protest Songs’: Bob Dylan, 1963.”

“While as the Bruce Springsteen Archives we are Bruce’s official repository, we also serve as the Center for American Music,” Melissa Ziobro, BSACAM curator and adjunct public history professor, explained. “This free annual lecture series shows our commitment to highlighting timely scholarship about other artists and themes in music history, by nationally recognized scholars, for the benefit of our students and the entire community – both on-campus and beyond.”

Sean Wilentz is a professor of American history at Princeton University and focuses on social, political, and cultural history. “This year, we invited Dr. Wilentz to deliver the President’s lecture for many reasons. For one, he has a strong background in political history, and we knew he’d be speaking just after we as a nation inaugurated a new president. Further, he is the author of ‘Bob Dylan in America,’ a consideration of Dylan’s place in American cultural history — which is also timely as there’s a new major motion picture out about Dylan’s life,” Ziobro explained.

Wilentz’s lecture will focus on Dylan’s early work during his time in Greenwich Village and the political nature of the early 1960s. Unique and uncirculated recordings of Dylan from that era will also be available for the audience to listen to. Wilentz’s book “Bob Dylan in America” will be available to purchase after the event.

Coming away from this event, Ziobro hopes attendees can gain new knowledge; not only on Dylan but also on politics. “I think it’s so important that we explore these broader themes of politics and protest – as these are so often present in our daily lives and our ongoing societal discourse. Last but not least, Dr. Wilentz promises we’re going to hear some great music — who doesn’t love that?!”
This event will be free and open to the public; advanced registration is required. For more information, visit springsteenarchives.org.