American Hippies

This short overview of the United States hippie social movement examines hippie beliefs and practices.

W. J. Rorabaugh (Author)

9781107627192, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 June 2015

245 pages, 16 b/w illus.
21.7 x 13.5 x 1.4 cm, 0.31 kg

'In his brief yet effective survey of the hippies of the 1960s and early 1970s, historian Rorabaugh presents a topical overview … The book's overriding themes, which Rorabaugh summons in his conclusion as 'hippie legacies', are authenticity, individualism, and community … Whereas most studies treat political radicals of the sixties as distinctly separate from hippies, Rorabaugh examines the relationship between the two camps in an effective chapter. He concludes with an insightful chapter on communes, the essential example of community. Rorabaugh achieves a nice balance, recognizing the hippie imprint without waxing nostalgic, acknowledging hippie naiveté and anti-intellectualism without becoming hypercritical. Summing up: recommended.' A. J. Dunar, Choice

In the late 1960s and early 1970s hundreds of thousands of white middle-class American youths suddenly became hippies. This short overview of the hippie social movement in the United States examines the movement's beliefs and practices, including psychedelic drugs, casual sex, and rock music, as well as the phenomena of spiritual seeking, hostility to politics, and communes. W. J. Rorabaugh synthesizes how hippies strived for authenticity, expressed individualism, and yearned for community. Viewing the tumultuous Sixties from a new angle, Rorabaugh shows how the counterculture led to subsequent social and cultural changes in the United States with legacies including casual sex, natural foods, and even the personal computer.

Introduction
1. Origins
2. Drugs, music, and spirituality
3. Bodies, sex, and gender
4. Diggers, Yippies, and People's Park, 5. Communes
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], History of the Americas [HBJK]