Counterculture Cures

Cold and flu season is rough. But along with the feverish, achy, misery comes the excuse to indulge in hot beverages, old movies, and layers of soft blankets. And, for certain graduate students, it's a chance to briefly put aside less desirable projects and eke out some productive work in what I like to think of as "comfort history."

Comfort history is the fun stuff. Instead of making us think, "Oh my, how significant this is in the historiography of the subject," it makes us grin and say "Cool!" Of course, comfort history is different for everyone but for me it's 1960s American counterculture.

This is actually very convenient, since I have recently embarked on a project for my cultural history research seminar about The Living Theatre, an experimental theater group founded in 1947 which, in the '60s, converged with the counterculture and produced fascinating and provocative art.

-What do you want?
-To stop wasting the planet.
-To stop dying of competition.
-To do useful work.
-To get to know God in his madness.
-To make the destination clear.

- The Living Theatre, "Paradise Now"

Due to certain conflicts with the IRS and local law enforcement agencies, the Living Theatre company decided to tour in Europe from 1964 until 1968. After missing four pivotal years in U.S. cultural history, they returned to a very different environment than the one they'd left. I hope to analyze how their 1968-1969 tour reflected the new "norms" of American society and how their art evolved to reflect these shifts.

For the moment, however, I'm savoring my favorite part of any writing assignment: the research. It's like directing a film, as I start to put together all of the pieces of the scenery, cast the extras, understand the plot, and glean motives. I especially enjoy celebrity cameos-- I got quite a thrill when I read a bit of a diary that revealed an affair between one of the Living Theatre founders and Abbie Hoffman!

And now I think it's time for another cup of tea, a new box of tissues, and another juicy counterculture memoir. Their road to revolution is my road to recovery!