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Students Delve Into Led Zeppelin
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Media Studies Professor Andrew Goodwin is wrapping up a semester-long course on Led Zeppelin.
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Media studies Professor Andrew Goodwin never considered himself much of a Led Zeppelin fan, so it's somewhat surprising that he is now wrapping up "Special Topics: Led Zeppelin," a semester-long course on the band.
"I always appreciated their music, but it wasn't as if I had Led Zeppelin posters all over my wall when I was a teenager or something," Goodwin said.
Yet when he went back and listened to the English rock band's music several years ago, he found himself "astonished and genuinely surprised." Not only was the music strong -- much stronger than he thought it would be -- but the recordings still sounded fresh.
"The thing that surprised me more than anything was how interesting I found the vocals and the lyrics," Goodwin said. "I had never paid attention before."
He started paying attention and saw the potential in a course dedicated to studying the band's music. Instead of using Led Zeppelin simply as a case study to examine cultural trends, Goodwin wanted to delve into the aesthetics of the band's music.
With that as a focus, students have learned to critique and appreciate Led Zeppelin's music, analyze its structures, and understand how music is put together. During the first third of the semester, students learned about the foundations of Led Zeppelin's music, including blues, folk, and rock 'n' roll traditions, and delved into topics such as guitarist and producer Jimmy Page's work.
The middle third of the class focused on working through each of Led Zeppelin's albums, familiarizing students with their structures, lyrics, and key elements. The last part of the course found students discussing the different themes in the band's music as well as its aesthetics and politics. They also discussed controversies surrounding the band, including issues related to authorship, plagiarism, and royalty payments.
As students quickly learned, the class has required much more than sitting around listening to music. Certainly, there is quite a bit of music listening involved -- on a recent day, Goodwin had various Led Zeppelin songs playing before lecture and during a break -- but students are expected to do more than just listen. They must be able to intelligently discuss the music and its implications. As senior sociology major Sara Bassett described the class: "It's been really challenging."
Bassett had heard Led Zeppelin's music before beginning the class, but she didn't know anything about the band. Yet she was intrigued by a flyer she saw advertising the course and mentioned it to her mother as a class she was considering as an elective.
"My mom told me she would kill me if I didn't take it," said Bassett.
Despite students' parents being more familiar with the band than students themselves -- Led Zeppelin disbanded in 1980, years before most of today's college students were born -- Goodwin found students interested in the music from the very beginning. That's not something he was totally sure of as he formulated the idea for the class, so he made sure to ask his 22-year-old son.
"The fact that he didn't laugh at me when I said I was going to teach Led Zeppelin made me think I was onto something," Goodwin said.
So has teaching the course made Goodwin more of a fan? He wouldn't describe himself using that term, since it would imply a suspension of critical judgment, but the class has affected his thoughts about Led Zeppelin.
"I have developed an even deeper appreciation for their musicianship," Goodwin said. 
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