What happens when Ivan and G.I. Joe clash?  In this two part class, we'll find out!  During the two 70 minute sessions of this class, students will explore the punk rock music of the Cold War Era.  Together we will learn about major events of the Cold War and investigate how punk's subversive nature helped chip away at authority on both sides of the Iron Curtain.  

Day One of this class will focus on Western punk rock.  We'll begin by listening to The Clash's "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe", through which we will investigate the fears spurred on by the nuclear arms race.  Next we will study US intervention in foreign conflicts through "Bleed for Me" by The Dead Kennedys.  Finally, we will listen to the classic Cold War protest song "99 Red Balloons" by West German New Wave band Nena.  We'll end class with a discussion around Western feelings towards the Cold War, USSR, and the US government.

Day Two will take us behind the Iron Curtain as we study the underground punk scenes of the communist world.  We'll start with a study of the division of Germany and the Berlin wall through East German band Schleim Keim's "Bundesrepublic".  Next we'll go to the USSR to study the the relaxing of Soviet censorship through Gorbachev's policy of Perestroika.  We'll use Grazhdanskaya Oborona's "Ya Vsegda Budu Protiv (I Will Always Be Against)" to look at how Soviet citizens slowly began to criticize their government in the 1980's.  Finally, we'll look at the fall of communism in Poland through Tilt's "Runal Juz Ostanti Mur (The Last Wall Has Fallen".  We will finish with a final discussion on the role of punk rock in subverting governments on both sides of the Iron Curtain.  

Notes:
- Each song on Day Two will be played in their original language with English lyric translations provided.  
- Some songs contain graphic violent lyrics that may be better suited for older students