Date of Award
Spring 2026
Degree Type
Thesis
Department
Political Science
Director of Thesis
Kirk Randazzo
Second Reader
Christine Sixta Rinehart
Abstract
This thesis explores the relationship between rock protest music and wars, armed conflicts, and other related events. The purpose of this research is to explore how such specific events, or war and conflict in general, influence rock songwriters. This paper examines a series of nine rock songs ranging across five decades, from the Vietnam War to the 2010s. A variety of artists wrote and recorded these songs, ranging from hard rock to classic rock, to folk rock and beyond. Some are more audially intense, lyrically visceral, and featuring explicit language, whereas others are much more stripped-back and “family-friendly.” Each of these songs, however, was written as a response to such conflicts. The research questions this thesis seeks to answer are “How do these rock songs change in their methods of communication throughout history? To what extent do rock protest songs reflect armed conflicts, and how does this influence protests and public reaction?”
First Page
1
Last Page
55
Recommended Citation
Dunn, Dylan Conner, "Rock On! Examining the Relationship Between Armed Conflict and Rock Protest Music" (2026). Senior Theses. 840.
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/senior_theses/840
Rights
© 2026, Dylan Conner Dunn
Included in
Audio Arts and Acoustics Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Other Music Commons, Other Political Science Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons