Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology

The burgeoning field of sound studies challenges narratives about the primacy of sight in Western culture, broadly reconsidering the function of the sonic in society. In this course, we will examine recent sound studies literature on topics ranging from listening and the voice, recording technology, acoustic ecology, and non-human sounds. Focus will be on situating listening practices within historical and cultural environments, reconsidering the relationships between the senses, and deconstructing the ways that sound informs identity categories such as race, gender, and disability. This seminar-style course will include in-class soundwalking as well as a final recording project in response to a local issue in the Bloomington area.