The studies on sound, sound media, sound art, and the histories and ethnographies of listening, and hearing have exponentially grown during the last decade. Sound studies carry particular importance considering dominating power of visuality and visual culture. This course underlines the significance of sound, listening, and hearing in contemporary everyday life, and in historical moments. We will explore a range of histories, and ethnographies of sound and listening, as it intersects with topics in media studies, technology studies, political economy, and musicology. Some of the questions we will explore in the course are as follows:
- How does political, commercial, and cultural context define what we listen to, and how we listen to it?
- How do various media forms shape how sound is made, used and heard?
- How has our experience of sound changed from radio to the personal computer, from oral culture, to the phonoautograph and to the mp3?
- What is the relationship between hearing and listening?
- How can we conceptualize “hearing” and “listening” at the age of the technologies of interaction?
- What are the significance of noise and silence in various historical moments and cultural contexts?
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to;
To develop an understanding of the major schools of thought within the field of sound studies;
To develop a sense of the historical and cultural contexts of sound, listening, and hearing;
To critically address sound across styles and modes of practices;
To convey the above-mentioned knowledge and skills in various forms such as written arguments, oral presentations, sound recordings and media projects;
to create sound stories
Blended
Sterne, Jonathan, ed. (2012) The Sound Studies Reader, edited by Jonathan Sterne. Routledge.
Reading package is also available
Assignments, Case Study, Report Preparation and/or Presentation, Project
Requires consent of instructor for non-departmental students Except students from following programme Television Reporting and Programming
Attendance and readings of the assigned material before the class is crucial
Course Content
Introduction: Sound theories, sociology of sound
Approaches to hearing and seeing; modes of listening
Silence, voice, noise, sound
Modes of Listening
History of sound and technology
Political economy of music
Sound and Memory
Midterm
Sound and urban space
Sound and Radio: From nation building to community building
Any test, assignment, paper, or report submitted by you and that has your name on it is presumed to be your own original work that has not previously been submitted for credit in another course or has not been written partially or completely by another person. In all of your assignments, you may use words or ideas written by other individuals in publications, web sites, or other sources, but only with proper attribution as explained in your course. If you are not clear about the expectations for completing an assignment or taking a test or examination, be sure to seek clarification from your instructor. Finally, you should keep in mind that as a member of the campus community, you are expected to demonstrate integrity in all of your academic endeavors and will be evaluated on your own merits.. The consequences of cheating and academic dishonesty is a formal discipline punishment as regulated by the Turkish Higher Educational Council.
Educational Support for Disabled Students
If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Bilgi Accessible Education Unit as early as possible in the term. Bilgi Accessible Education Unit will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course. For more information, visit http://step.bilgi.edu.tr/en/ogrenci-destek-merkezi/bilgi-accessible-education-unit/
