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Sounding out Past, Present & Future: Sensing and Listening Differently

What happens when we hear without truly listening? How are histories and cultures deconstructed or constructed through sound? In what ways are our listening experiences shaped and coloured by social, collective, and cultural environments?

Sound is typically regarded from an ear-centric perspective. In this module, we explore alternatives to the insular ear by connecting diverse historical, conceptual, and practical positions. By moving beyond the paradigm of medium or content, we reflect on how sonic experiences have been codified and interpreted at various cultural and historical moments.
The decentering of listening from historical privilege can open up spaces for interrogating the relationship between sound and culture. In doing so, we relate current perspectives on sound and listening to discourses and practices that negotiate historicity not as linear narratives, but rather as cross-cultural and interpolated fields in contemporary contexts, with emphasis on exploratory and transdisciplinary practices that extend the range of possibilities in sound.

Practice interventions, listening and analysis of artistic works are combined with the reading of texts to unfold the ambivalent interactions between sound, listening and historicity. Participants will ignite discussions that challenge standard notions of sonic cultures in order to formulate various strategies for sensing and listening differently. By thinking about sonic practices as a means of answering larger historical and cultural questions, not only do participants acquire the skill to critically reflect and communicate through sound but also develop a well-articulated and independent position within their own thematic field of practice.