Dylan and the South Goes Global: Ole Miss Takes Class on the Road

After packed houses on the Ole Miss campus for the Bob Dylan and the South course taught by R.J. Morgan, associate instructional professor of journalism, students and professors took their learning and expertise "from Oxford Town to the wide world beyond," making stops in Italy and Oklahoma.

The planned study abroad trip turned Dylan-themed when Morgan noticed an ad for the Bob Dylan's Week festival on a previous trip to Florence, Italy.

"I reached out to the organizer, Guisseppe Acquaraggia, on social media and offered to collaborate on this year's event," Morgan said.

"They were excited to have American professors and American students from Mississippi, from the South – the cradle of America's music – to come and talk and be part of the festival."

The study abroad leg of the tour – organized by Jason Cain, associate professor of journalism – involved 45 students participating in classes and other cultural events offered by UM faculty.

Course topics ranged from travel writing, with Morgan, and branding in the music business, led by Cain, to photography, taught by associate professor of journalism Mark Dolan, and global branding, led by Chris Sparks, associate instructional professor of integrated marketing communication. Throughout all the courses, Dylan served as muse.

"We wanted to do something locally in Florence that students wouldn't get to do here at home," Cain said.

What really made the Italy tour stop unique was the local Bob Dylan's Week celebration that lasted a month.

The folk festival included Dylan-inspired live art, lectures, musical tributes as well as theatrical performances throughout different venues in Florence.

Besides classes, students soaked up the local culture with cooking classes, tours and Bob Dylan's Week activities. Students were charged with seeing three live performances.

"We encouraged students to go and to do things that they might not otherwise do – whether that was go to a jazz club or other live performances – and they did," Cain said.

Some even managed to network their way into DJing at an exclusive club.

"We saw that students were realizing the power of being, what made them content, what inspired them, and they took value in that," Cain said.

The professors taught by day and shared their expertise, as well as Cain's musical skills, with the folks of Florence after class.

In both Florence and Naples, Morgan lectured on Dylan's early civil rights anthems and how they acted as an alternative form of journalism during the era, but he was surprised to discover that audiences in Italy were already well-versed in Mississippi's history and musical heritage.

"You say 'Mississippi' and people appreciate that you are from the place, the source, the fount of everything American music," Morgan said. "They have a real reverence, and when you reference Muddy Waters or Emmett Till, they know that stuff – sometimes better than people here."

With Dylan's writings and art as models, students studied his style and tried it on for size.

Morgan's class sparked a passion for research and documentary creation, as well as a discovery of self, for Lilly Ross, a senior integrated marketing communication major from Madison.

She has been part of the tour since the spring semester course, where she created a documentary about the inaugural class.

"It's really cool to learn as you go," Ross said. "I love when I can feel myself learning something."

During the time in Italy, Ross focused on her writing.

"We used Bob Dylan's writings as a way to write more quality over quantity," she said. "It challenged me to get to the point to leave room for another."

After the monthlong stint in Italy, the next stop on tour was Oklahoma for the World of Bob Dylan conference at the University of Tulsa.

At this four-day gig, Morgan and other Ole Miss professors presented their Dylan-related research to an audience of around 300 academics and fans. Cain discussed Levon Helm and Dylan's authenticity, Dolan shared about Dylan's unfinished paintings and Jacob Justice, assistant professor of speech communication, presented about Dylan and The Beatles' mutual influence.

Along with Ross, they conducted a panel discussion about their time in Italy. As the youngest Dylan scholar in attendance, Ross offered her unique perspective.

"Our panel was excellent because we had a lot of engagement with the listeners," she said. "There was not a moment that somebody didn't have their phone out taking a picture of the slides or videoing us talking."

The engagement is slated to continue this fall with an "Only a Pawn in Their Game" panel discussion about the 1963 assassination of NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers. Morgan also plans to reprise the Dylan course in spring 2026 and has been contacted about developing regional festivals in Starkville and Tupelo.

Whether in Oxford Town or "across that lonesome ocean," this tour of Dylan-inspired media, lyrics, art, discussions and presentations has produced learning and self-discovery for all.

"I learned I could make something from nothing," Ross said. "I could find the story inside the chaos.

"I could travel alone, film alone, think out loud in front of experts and still feel like I belong. Most importantly, I've learned that I love the deep dive, that I'm not afraid of the long haul. Give me an impossible artist, a messy idea and a Southern ghost story, and I'll follow it until I find something worth saying."

Top: The study of Bob Dylan's music and the culture and history it reflects turned into a summer program for some 45 Ole Miss students and several faculty members from the School of Journalism and New Media. The tour included stops in Italy and Oklahoma. Illustration by Jordan Thweatt/University Marketing and Communications