BEMIDJI, Minn. — Dr. Michael Taylor, assistant professor of philosophy at Bemidji State University, will present an Honors Council Lecture entitled “Don’t Stop Talkin’ ‘Bout Freedom: The Censorship of Rock Music in the 1960s and 1970s” on Wedesday, April 15. The lecture, which is free to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. in Hagg-Sauer 112 on the Bemidji State campus.

Taylor will present an intellectual contemplation of the federal government’s efforts to stifle the free expression of ideas through music in the 1960s and 1970s and the historical significance of those efforts. As rock music was the means by which counterculture philosophy was carried to the masses – the same role that television played in the 1970s and 1980s – it provided the linchpin upon which popular protest against perceived injustice motivated direct action unparalleled in American history. As a result, the sinews of American society were being strained to the breaking point. Beginning with the 1968 election of President Richard Nixon the full authority of the government was unleashed to control rock music’s obvious influence.

Taylor will place special emphasis on the principles of censorship and their application against popular music.

Michael Taylor is in his first year on the Bemidji State University faculty. Before coming to Minnesota, he taught at the University of Missouri Kansas City and at Dickinson State University. He has written and presented on a wide range of historical topics and is a member of the Supreme Court Historical Society and Missouri Valley History Conference Advisory Council. Taylor received his bachelor’s degree from Rockhurst College in Kansas City and his master’s degree in American history and doctorate degree in history and political science from the University of Missouri Kansas City.

Taylor’s presentation is the fourth of five Honors Council lectures during the spring series, which runs through April 29.

2009 Spring Honors Lecture Series
* Feb. 11: “Perceptual Experience and Physical Theory,” David Lund
* Feb. 24: “The Road Less Traveled,” Donald Day
* March 24: “Walking Machines: A Short History of Legged, Mechanized Locomotion,” Vincent Vohnout
* April 15: “Don’t Stop Talkin’ ‘Bout Freedom: The Censorship of Rock Music in the 1960s and 1970s,” Michael Taylor
* Apri 29: “From the Tomb to the Cathedral: The Roots and Traditions of Orthodox Icon Painting,” Natalia Himmirska

For more information about the Honors Council Lecture Series, please contact the honors program at (218) 755-3984.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR
April 15 – 7 p.m. – Bemidji State University Honors Lecture: “Don’t Stop Talkin’ ‘Bout Freedom: The Censorship of Rock Music in the 1960s and 1970s” presented by Dr. Michael Taylor, assistant professor of philosophy at Bemidji State. Location: Hagg-Sauer 112, Bemidji State campus. Admission: free.