February 1, 2025
We're not surprised at all, though of course very pleased, to learn that our own contributing writer/film-scholar Caroline Madden remains very active elsewhere when she's not submitting great work for our website. The two latest examples...
Madden is the Managing Editor of McGill University's Biannual Online-Journal Of Springsteen Studies (BOSS), which has just published its newest issue. The journal's mission statement asserts that it "aims to publish scholarly, peer-reviewed essays pertaining to Bruce Springsteen. This open-access journal seeks to encourage consideration of Springsteen’s body of work primarily through the political, economic, and socio-cultural factors that have influenced his music and shaped its reception. BOSS welcomes broad interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary approaches to Springsteen’s songwriting and performance. The journal aims to secure a place for Springsteen Studies in the contemporary academy."
Featured in this latest issue: Daniel Loughran's "Dialogic Praxis: Radical Pedagogy for a Runaway American Dream" (in which Loughran argues that Bruce Springsteen’s dialogue with his fans fosters a pedagogy similar to that of Brazil’s heroic social reformer and educational theorist Paulo Freire,) Timothy Penner's "'They wanted to know why I did what I did:' Reading Bruce Springsteen’s 'Nebraska' through Ernest Hemingway’s Iceberg Principle," Nick Sansone's "'Man Turns His Back On His Family': Domestic Precarity and Fragile Masculinity in The Indian Runner and 'Highway Patrolman',” Marian Jago's "It’s Only Rock & Roll: Springsteen, Cultural Value, and Self-Myth on Film," and Melissa Ziobro's "A Glimpse Inside the Collection of the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University," along with reviews of Lorraine Mangione and Donna Luff's Mary Climbs In: The Journeys of Bruce Springsteen’s Women Fans (reviewed by Carrie Pitzulo,) Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen's book (based on their podcast) Renegades: Born in the USA (reviewed by James Tackach,) and Jesse Lawson's and Holly Casio's podcast Because the Boss Belongs to Us (reviewed by Lucas Crawford.)
Madden writes in her introduction to the issue, "We hope these peer-reviewed articles from multiple academic disciplines, along with our reviews and inside look at the Springsteen archives, will appeal to both scholars and fans. Just as Bruce Springsteen continues to interrogate his own legacy, so too do we, the scholars and readers of BOSS. We appreciate the historical, cultural, and political dimensions of his work and are thrilled to see Springsteen Studies continue to thrive."
The current issue and all previously published issues are available online to all interested readers, free of charge. Click here to read any and all issues of McGill University's Biannual Online-Journal Of Springsteen Studies (BOSS).
Caroline Madden also has contributed a new essay to Fun City Editions' upcoming Blu-ray release of John Sayles' great 1983 film Baby It's You, which was the first major-studio-released film to feature Springsteen music in its soundtrack. Sayles' film, starring Rosanna Arquette and Vincent Spano, has been restored from a 4K scan of its original camera negative for this Blu-ray release. Fun City Editions' Blu-ray version of Baby It's You will be released on April 15. Click here to pre-order your copy online.