Formal institutions, "with their explicit mandates, methods of operation, and extensive paper trails, provide the more ready means for tracking and marking change, as evidence drawn from noninstitutional settings must often rely more heavily on interpretation and conjecture" (Orren and Skowronek 2004, 25; see also p. 79).
Compared to most rock groups of the 60s and 70s--that is, their peers--the Grateful Dead were as close as you could come to a formal institution. They had explicit mandates and methods of operation, and extensive paper trails.
ReplyDeleteWhich is rather amazing for a bunch of improvising hippies.
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