"Punk Rock And Society" Honors Course at The University of New Haven

Sociologist Jeffrey S. Debies-Carl and  Murray Krugman, have paired up to teach a course on Punk Rock at the Connecticut University of New Haven.

An Honors course that should be an easy A since, what is punk rock put the deflated balloon of rebellion. 

According to the Hartford Courant "the class surveys punk from a critical distance, examining the history of the music, its relationship to mainstream pop-culture and what it all means, if anything.

“The idea is to try to put a container on something that at least espouses a desire to throw off any container, and may not be containable,” says Krugman, whose career has included managing the New York punk band the Dictators in the early ’70s and co-producing “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult.

I am not sure how the 'Dont Fear The Reaper' bit falls in to play but step back cuz that's cool if only for the "more cowbell' parody.

The course will begin with The Ramones and take you up until recent acts such as Rancid. Required reading includes,  “Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk” by Connecticut native Legs McNeil.

The class is also hosting guest speakers, including Handsome Dick Manitoba from the Dictators, guitarist and rock archivist Lenny Kaye, rock photographer Bob Gruen and maybe Ian McKaye,  (btw I would kill to meet Bob Gruen, perhaps the only book signing I would ever line up for should there be one)

I love the idea but I'm not sure if I love the idea… a college course is a great thing, a fun field trip in to the past.  I love that its historic and its musical (most honors classes are of two disciplines so this works out really well).  It feels a bit contrived, I mean how punk rock is honors college anyway? 

But we teach the children well. 

Someone who is enrolled in that class report back to us- we can tell ya if its true, we were there.