You could say that Dr. Rebecca Adams’ research on Deadhead culture is alumnus Matthew Russ’ fault. While majoring in sociology at UNCG in 1987, he spotted the professor at a Grateful Dead concert. Afterward he convinced her to study the band’s fans as a serious line of inquiry.
In 1989, Dr. Adams created one of the first sociology courses in the country dedicated to the subject.
Adams, 21 students, a film crew, and two graduate assistants traveled with the Grateful Dead and their fans across the northeastern U.S. to study Deadheads within concert venues, a pedagogical approach that had to be defended by then UNCG Chancellor Moran to UNC System president Spangler. The course was even ridiculed in a local newspaper.
But Adams’ research – on how Deadheads form and maintain identities and communities – eventually gained her national and international recognition.