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Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975

Rock and Roll, Counterculture, Peace and Protest

From the austerity of the 1950s to the excess of the 1970s, discover the period through a wealth of printed and manuscript sources, visual material, ephemera and video clips.

Music, politics, fashion, youth culture – the period from 1950 to 1975 witnessed dramatic changes in society. There was the onset of Rock and Roll; the introduction of computers and credit cards; the boom of radio and television; and campaigns for black power, civil rights and women’s liberation. All around the world there were challenges to authority.

By focusing on substantial collections of original archival material from key libraries in Britain and America, this digital resource provides primary sources to enable students and scholars to examine these issues in detail.

Subjects include:
  • Art and architecture
  • Civil Rights and race relations
  • Consumerism
  • Drug culture
  • Ecology and the environment
  • Fashion
  • Gay and Lesbian rights
  • Literature and drama
  • Mass media
  • Music
  • The Northern Ireland 'Troubles'
  • Pacifism
  • Politics
  • Religion, morality and censorship
  • Science and technology
  • Science fiction and fantasy
  • Sex and sexuality
  • Student activism
  • Vietnam
  • Women's rights
  • Youth culture

Key data

Period covered

1950-1975

Source archives

  • Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
  • Browne Popular Culture Library, Bowling Green State University
  • Felix Dennis Archive
  • Labour Party Archive
  • Peter Whitehead Archive
  • Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
  • The Rock Source Archive
  • The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Archive at Warwick University
  • The National Archives, UK
  • University of Sussex Library, Special Collections
  • University of Warwick, Modern Records Centre
  • Other supporting libraries and organisations
  • Art and architecture
  • Civil Rights and race relations
  • Consumerism
  • Drug culture
  • Ecology and the environment
  • Fashion
  • Gay and lesbian rights
  • Literature and drama
  • Mass media
  • Music
  • The Troubles in Northern Ireland
  • Pacificism
  • Politics
  • Religion, morality and censorship
  • Science and technology
  • Science fiction and fantasy
  • Sex and sexuality
  • Student activism
  • Vietnam
  • Women's rights
  • Youth culture
  • Manuscripts and typescripts
  • Printed materials (newspapers, magazines, press kits, artist’s files)
  • Video clips of original footage
  • Visual images: photographs, advertisements, memorabilia
  • Ephemera: pamphlets, leaflets, posters, pins, artefacts
  • Fanzines, underground press, scripts
  • Government files
  • Johnny Black, freelance journalist and writer for Mojo, Q, and The Times
  • Norma Coates, University of Western Ontario
  • Marcus Collins, Loughborough University
  • Joseph Kruppa, University of Texas at Austin
  • Chad Martin, University of Indianapolis
  • Bill Schurk, Bowling Green State University
  • Cultural Studies
  • Great Britain, Republic of Ireland and Northern Irish Studies
  • Music, Sound and Dance
  • North American Studies
  • Political History and Science
  • Sexuality and LGBTQI+ Histories
  • Women's History
  • Original video footage
  • Extensive chronology with embedded articles and images
  • The complete run of Gandalf’s Garden magazine
  • Visual gallery
  • Online exhibitions
  • Essays, Dictionary and Music features

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