1. II. Histories of Sound

2. 1.Listening to History / Histories of Listening 2.Histories of Sound and Technology 3.Acoustic Archives

3. Why are historians now beginning to listen to the past?

4. Listening to History

5. Why are historians now beginning to listen to the past? Listening to History Aural history

6. Why are historians now beginning to listen to the past? Listening to History Aural history And how are they listening?

7. Why are historians now beginning to listen to the past? Listening to History Aural history And how are they listening? Histories of Listening

8. Why are historians now beginning to listen to the past? Listening to History Aural history And how are they listening? Histories of Listening History of aurality

9. Listening to History / Histories of Listening: 1.Bells, identity, 19 th Century French village (Corbin) 2.The soundscape of modernity (Thompson) 3.Feminist historiography of electronic music (Rodgers)

10. 1. Identity, Bells, and the 19 th Century French Village

11. The Village of Roussillon, Provence, France

12. “In the nineteenth century, at least in the countryside, bell ringing defined a space within which only fragmented discontinuous noises were heard, none of which could really vie with the bell tower.” (p. 185)

13. The functions of bells in the 19 th century French countryside:

14. Marking territorial identity The functions of bells in the 19 th century French countryside:

15. Marking territorial identity “Sacral recharging of the surrounding space” (p. 185) The functions of bells in the 19 th century French countryside:

16. Marking territorial identity “Sacral recharging of the surrounding space” (p. 185) Orientation The functions of bells in the 19 th century French countryside:

17. Marking territorial identity “Sacral recharging of the surrounding space” (p. 185) Orientation Prophylactic virtue The functions of bells in the 19 th century French countryside:

18. Marking territorial identity “Sacral recharging of the surrounding space” (p. 185) Orientation Prophylactic virtue To ‘rarefy’ the air (p. 189) The functions of bells in the 19 th century French countryside:

19. Marking territorial identity “Sacral recharging of the surrounding space” (p. 185) Orientation Prophylactic virtue To ‘rarefy’ the air (p. 189) Temporal marker The functions of bells in the 19 th century French countryside:

20. What language and names are inscribed on these bronze bells?

21. Who has bells rung in their honor?

22. “Through bells an individual was better able to apprehend the identity of the group to which he belonged. They helped him locate himself in space and time. They audibly proclaimed to him the order of the society within which his life unfolded, and made manifest the power of the constituted authorities” (p. 200)

23. 2. The Soundscape of Modernity

24. Thompson’s definition of soundscape: “I define the soundscape as an auditory or aural landscape. Like a landscape, a soundscape is simultaneously a physical environment and a way of perceiving the environment; it is both a world and a culture constructed to make sense of the world. The physical aspect of a soundscape consists not only of the sounds themselves, the waves of acoustical energy permeating the atmosphere in which people live, but also the material objects that create, and sometimes destroy, those sounds." (p. 116)

25. Thompson’s definition of soundscape: “I define the soundscape as an auditory or aural landscape. Like a landscape, a soundscape is simultaneously a physical environment and a way of perceiving the environment; it is both a world and a culture constructed to make sense of the world. The physical aspect of a soundscape consists not only of the sounds themselves, the waves of acoustical energy permeating the atmosphere in which people live, but also the material objects that create, and sometimes destroy, those sounds." (p. 116)

26. The American soundscape underwent a particularly dramatic transformation in the years between 1900- 1933 Sounds became signals - a new criterion by which the evaluate them - located in the new electrical technologies The opening of Symphony Hall in Boston (1900) and the opening of Radio City Music Hall in New York (1932) frames the period covered by the book The Soundscape of Modernity:

27. The Symphony Hall in Boston,1904

29. The Symphony Hall today

31. The Radio City Music Hall in New York,1937

34. Radio City Music Hall today

36. Thompson describes the emergence of a new, modernist sound. Define it:

37. An object of scientific scrutiny

38. Thompson describes the emergence of a new, modernist sound. Define it: An object of scientific scrutiny Controlled (a "good sound”)

39. Thompson describes the emergence of a new, modernist sound. Define it: An object of scientific scrutiny Controlled (a "good sound”) Non-reverberant

40. Thompson describes the emergence of a new, modernist sound. Define it: An object of scientific scrutiny Controlled (a "good sound”) Non-reverberant Many different places begin to sound alike

41. Thompson describes the emergence of a new, modernist sound. Define it: An object of scientific scrutiny Controlled (a "good sound”) Non-reverberant Many different places begin to sound alike Easy to understand

42. Thompson describes the emergence of a new, modernist sound. Define it: An object of scientific scrutiny Controlled (a "good sound”) Non-reverberant Many different places begin to sound alike Easy to understand Efficient

43. Thompson describes the emergence of a new, modernist sound. Define it: An object of scientific scrutiny Controlled (a "good sound”) Non-reverberant Many different places begin to sound alike Easy to understand Efficient Had little to say about the places in which it was produced and consumed

44. "...if most of sounds of the past are gone for good, they have nonetheless left behind a rich record of their existence in the artifacts, the people, and the cultures that once brought them forth. By starting here, with the solidity of technological objects and material practices of those who designed, built, and used them, we can begin to recover the sounds that have long since melted into air. Along with those sounds, we can recover more fully our past." (p. 125-126)

45. 3. Towards A Feminist Historiography of Electronic Music

46. Rodger’s historiography:

47. Origins stories (e.g. Russolo’s Art of Noises) tend to normalize hegemonic cultural practices

48. Rodger’s historiography: Origins stories (e.g. Russolo’s Art of Noises) tend to normalize hegemonic cultural practices The tools for making electronic music are not innocent

49. Rodger’s historiography: Origins stories (e.g. Russolo’s Art of Noises) tend to normalize hegemonic cultural practices The tools for making electronic music are not innocent Cagian silence

50. Rodger’s historiography: Origins stories (e.g. Russolo’s Art of Noises) tend to normalize hegemonic cultural practices The tools for making electronic music are not innocent Cagian silence The logic of reproduction

51. Rodger’s historiography: Origins stories (e.g. Russolo’s Art of Noises) tend to normalize hegemonic cultural practices The tools for making electronic music are not innocent Cagian silence The logic of reproduction Works by women electronic musicians suggest different, more imaginative ways to navigate this history

52. Let’s go listen and watch!

53. For Thursday: Link the listening practice, acoustic experience, or sound object you are writing about in your autobiographical essay to one of the historiographies we are studying this week: Bells, identity, and 19 th Century French Village life (Corbin) The Soundscape of Modernity (Thompson) Feminist Historiography of Electronic Music (Rodgers) Post on class blog as your discussion questions for this week.