Journal of Sonic Studies
About this portal
The portal is used to publish contributions for the online OA Journal of Sonic Studies, the storage of A/V materials, and the storage of previous issues.
contact person(s):
Marcel Cobussen ,
Vincent Meelberg url:
http://sonicstudies.org/about
Recent Activities
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Introduction: Exploring the Phenomenon of Sonic Waste in Anthropology
(2024)
author(s): Heikki Wilenius, Jonathan LARCHER
published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
The introduction to this special issue of The Journal of Sonic Studies addresses the concept of sonic waste in anthropological research. Stemming from a laboratory session titled "Rubbish, Noise, Experimentations: New Afterlives of Field Recordings" at the 2020 European Association of Social Anthropologists conference, this collection reconsiders ethnographic recordings traditionally categorized as noise or errors. The text sets the stage for the ensuing contributions that critically engage with discarded audio materials, challenging the long-standing emphasis on clarity and precision in field recordings.
This introduction explores the notion of “ethnographic rubbish” – recordings that fall outside the ethnographer's initial analytical framework – and positions this rubbish as worthy of scholarly attention. It argues for the inclusion of these “noisy” artifacts in the broader ethnographic narrative, suggesting that they can offer unique insights into the affective and infrastructural aspects of the researched environments. By foregrounding the materiality of sound and advocating for a multimodal ethnographic approach, this introduction invites a reassessment of what constitutes valuable data.
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A Conversation on Discarded Recordings
(2024)
author(s): Heikki Wilenius, Ernst Karel, Jonathan LARCHER
published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
What can be considered as a discarded recording in an ethnographic inquiry? Do the instabilities and technical errors show that technology is really part of the encounter of ethnographic situations? Furthermore, is there a limit beyond which a sound that is too degraded can no longer be restored but simply described in writing, the preferred medium of the human sciences in general and anthropology in particular? These three ideas were at the center of an online conversation with Ernst Karel, starting with the film Expedition Content (2020) made with Veronika Kusumaryati from the sound archives of the Harvard-Peabody expedition (1961) in Dutch New Guinea. The many errors and failures that punctuate Rockefeller's recordings – we also listened to some recordings that did not appear in Expedition Content – form a fertile ground for thinking about the tactics and listening that can make examining ethnographic rubbish a heuristic, both for the history of the anthropological discipline and for the history of the place where it was recorded.
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Authoring Noise, Noising Authority: Loudness and Oratory in an East Javanese Family Gathering
(2024)
author(s): Heikki Wilenius
published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
In this article, Heikki Wilenius reexamines an initially disregarded field recording from a family meeting in East Java, Indonesia, to understand the interplay between loudness and authority. The focal point of the analysis is the presence of a massive sound system in the gathering and its impact on social interactions. Wilenius explores the oratorical practices within the context of the event and examines the different ways speakers attempt to speak in an authoritative manner. Additionally, he investigates the semiotics of noise, considering it not as a mere lack of structure but as a moment of interruption that can produce insights upon closer analysis.
Wilenius argues that the loudness of oratory events in Java implies power but can also risk being perceived as empty rhetoric. He suggests that authority in Java has a semiotic ideology where refined, ignorable sounds can coexist with harsh, compelling ones. The article concludes that the materiality of the recording itself serves as an ethnographic object that resists assimilation into a cultural context, offering insights into the dynamics of authority at play. By embracing the "deficiencies" of the recording, Wilenius uncovers new dimensions of the ethnographic experience, proposing a methodology of repeated listening to reveal structures within seemingly arbitrary sounds.
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Sound Scraps and Resources of Ethnographic Writing
(2024)
author(s): Julie Métais
published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
Ethnographic work generally involves making sound recordings (recorded interviews, field recordings, or archival documents), whether or not the research includes a sonic dimension. But the sonic corpus of ethnographical research does not stop there; it also includes recorded "notepads," recordings related to daily life, telephone messages, etc. A large part of these sound data is discarded at the time of analysis and writing. What if it were otherwise? Relying on my research on cultural expressions of political conflicts in Oaxaca (Mexico), I propose a reflective approach to an initially discarded corpus of sounds, in order to reevaluate my listening and recording position as an anthropologist.
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Locating Her Kind
(2024)
author(s): Harsha Menon
published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
“Locating Her Kind,” a sonic essay in the form of a 15-minute HD video with sound, is a gender critique exploring female voices as discarded and silenced.
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3. We are capable of so much more
(2023)
author(s): Rajni Shah
published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
The writing that follows (interspersed between other articles) is a series of personal reflections on “listening” – a term which, for me, refers to an embodied attentive state, including but not limited to the ears. I write from my own experiences as a trans non-binary person of colour and reflect specifically on the ways in which listening work relates to anti-racist and anti-colonial work. Within the writing, certain words are hyperlinks. These are offered as moments of dialogue – moments where you are invited, if you wish, to read other texts that are in relationship with the particular word, phrase, or idea that is linked. At the end of the section titled “4. Portals,” there is a short list of links to artists and authors who are directly mentioned in the text as well as a list of further references in case they are of interest.