A few years ago Chris Edwards and I were discussing the potential Bob Dylan’s songs had as sources in the History classroom. We felt that his songs possess a power to engage and draw students into the study of the past, and in particular the study of America in period the songs were written. We felt that his songs made excellent initial stimulus material, as we had employed some of his songs in this way in the past, we also believed that there were some songs that could deliver much more than this. We aimed to incorporate Bob Dylan’s songs into an historical enquiry, to further developing our student’s historical thinking. Chris looked into how the songs can be used to develop students’ conceptual understanding of history, whilst I looked at how they can be used to enrich an historical enquiry. This website is designed to develop these ideas.
As the enquiry looked into the Civil Rights Movement, we chose five songs, by Bob Dylan, written during the period 1962-3:
The Death of Emmett Till
Blowin in the Wind
Only a Pawn in their Game
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
The Times They Are A-Changin
Down The Foggy Ruins of Time 
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