- Inter-faculty Studies in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Computer Science
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Mathematics
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Computer Science
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Mathematics
Altered States of Being: Psychedelic Culture in the United States 4219-SD0047-OG
From the perspective of American studies, scholarship on the history of the psychedelic movement focuses almost exclusively on the late 1960s period of the counterculture, and the connections between the so-called “hippie acid revolution” and the civil right movement, opposition to the Vietnam War, and the sexual revolution. One of the leaders of the psychedelic revolution was Timothy Leary, a controversial figure in the history of the psychedelic movement, whose transformation from a well-regarded psychologist interested in the mind-altering effects of LSD and psilocybin into a celebrity prophet-like figure who famously authored the slogan “Turn on, tune in, and drop out,” cemented the popular association of psychedelic substances with counterculture’s ideals of individual freedom.
In the course we will critically examine the legacy of the counterculture and its influence on today’s psychedelic culture, including such phenomena as psychedelic art and music, as well as the presence of the psychedelic aesthetic in popular film and television, speculative fiction, and subcultural practices of contemporary psychedelic communities. The course will offer both a historical perspective and a critical evaluation of psychedelic culture in contemporary America.
Type of course
foreign languages
Learning outcomes
After finishing the course the student:
1. KNOWLEDGE
*has an in-depth knowledge on the history of the American counterculture, particularly the history of the psychedelic movement;
*recognizes the dynamics and consequences of socio-cultural changes reflected in literary texts;
*recognizes complex relations between the history of the counterculture and contemporary psychodelic culture.
2. SKILLS
*is able to apply theoretical knowledge to conduct critical analysis of cultural texts;
*has the ability to critically engage with historical sources;
*has the ability to argue / draw conclusions on the political meanings of discussed social phenomena.
3. COMPETENCES
*is able to formulate his or her own opinion about the important role of the counterculture in contemporary American culture;
*is open to new phenomena and new ideas in the area of popular culture;
*has the ability to work in a group and take part in academic debates.
Assessment criteria
Active participation in classes: 20%
Short quizzes and written assignments: 30%
Final test: 50%
In order to pass the course, the student must receive a minimal score of 60%.
Bibliography
Literature (selected, subject to change):
*Conners, Peter. 2010. White Hand Society. The Psychedelic Partnership of Timothy Leary & Allen Ginsberg. San Francisco: City Hands Books.
*Cottrell, Robert C. 2015. Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Rise of America’s 1960s Counterculture. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
*Davis, Eric. 2019. High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the Seventies. London: MIT Press.
*Gitlin, Todd. 1987. The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage. New York: Bantham Books.
*Jarnow, Jesse. 2016. Heads: A Biography of Psychedelic America. Boston: Da Capo Press.
*Kutulas, Judy. 2017. After Aquarius Dawned: How the Revolutions of the Sixties Became the Popular Culture of the Seventies. University of North Carolina Press.
*Lee, Martin A. and Bruce Shalin. 1992. Acid Dreams. The Complete Social History of LSD: The CIA, the Sixties and Beyond. New York: Grove Press.
*Masters, Robert and Jean Houston. 1968. Psychedelic Art. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson.
*Penner, James (ed.). 2014. Timothy Leary: The Harvard Years – Early Writing on LSD and Psylocybin with Richard Alpert, Huston Smith, Ralph Metzner, and others. Rochester: Park Street Press.
*Roszak, Theodore. 1969. The Making of a Counter Culture. Reflections on the Technocratic Society and Its Youthful Opposition. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books.
*Storey, John. 2019. Radical Utopianism and Cultural Studies. On Refusing to be Realistic. London: Routledge.
*Stiff, Stephan. 2015. Acid Hype: American News Media and the Psychedelic Experience. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Additional information
Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:
- Inter-faculty Studies in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Computer Science
- Bachelor's degree, first cycle programme, Mathematics
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Bioinformatics and Systems Biology
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Computer Science
- Master's degree, second cycle programme, Mathematics
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: