Mar 04 2009
Liverpool University offer World’s First Masters Degree on The Beatles
- Liverpool University offer World’s First Masters Degree on the Beatles -
Liverpool Hope University are offering the world’s first Beatles Master’s Degree.
The one year course will cover the lyrics and music written by the ‘fab four’, and the social context in which they were written.
The emergence of the Beatle’s progressive sound, unleashed upon the swinging 60’s of Britain was to be a major force in the music world of the time, and to the future of pop music.
With their release of the innovative Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band a whole new sound of music was born and those influences can still be felt strongly today 40 years on.
The psychedelic, hippy-trippy nature of Sergeant Peppers was the ideal sound for the day. It seemed to encapsulate the way of life around the time of the free loving era of flower power and LSD.
The Beatle’s influence on society of the time was huge. From their pudding basin hair cuts, their clean cut image, right down to their stylised collarless jackets.
Along with Mary Quant, They influenced the structure of 60’s fashion and their sound shaped the face of the progression of future music.
Now Mike Brocken is tutoring a Master’s course on the Beatles at Liverpool University. This is assumed to be the world’s first.
There have been 8,000 books written about the influential Beatles thus far and some of these will go towards the serious academic study that the course will involve.
The Beatle’s fantastic, iconic LP covers with pop-art artwork put forth an impression of acid trip, hippy, psychedelia. The whole package was a perfect statement for the day and Beatle mania was a vibrant and exciting time in our music history.
This course should be highly interesting and the applicants will be hand chosen. There are only 30 places available and enquires are coming in from all over the world.
The Masters course will involve 2 nights a week, culminating in a dissertation; and what better place to study than the birth place of the Beatles.
With its famous Penny Lane and Cavern nightclub which saw the beginnings of the legendary Fab Four; a major force in our music movement. -
Are you sure about your Beatles trivia?
Of course. I have a Master’s on the subject.
Talk about a great step forward in higher education.
The university courses they come up with these days! David Beckham studies, The Beatles studies; I wonder what far out university course they’ll come up with next.
I guess it’ll be nice in a way for the 30 chosen Beatles fans to study for a university course about the band; quite what they’ll get out of the course though I’m not quite sure.
Another excellent article from you here, you always choose such interesting topics, and never does your writing fail to amaze me. You really are a massively talented writer.
Any Masters degree will stand you in good stead in any field. It shows dedication of study. I’d like to do this course; Interesting. -