Exposition

Animal Sounds against the Noise of Modernity and War: Julian Huxley (1887–1975) and the Preservation of the Sonic World Heritage (2017)

Marianne Sommer
open exposition

About this exposition

This paper engages with Julian Huxley’s and Ludwig Koch’s sound recording of animals and the production of “soundbooks.” This collection and preservation of animal vocalization is discussed in the larger context of Huxley’s engagement with nature conservation that included the fight against the noise of modernity. He also promoted the protection of nature through the medium of film and its capacity to store and distribute sounds. I focus on Huxley’s directorship of the London Zoo (1935-42) but follow these endeavors up to his involvement in the foundation of the WWF. Once again, the parallels between zoo – where the sound recordings were made – and film, which also presented animated animals, through human and/or animal sound, become apparent. For Huxley, animals could not possess language; that was the preserve of the crown of evolution, i.e. humankind. But they should have a voice. Finding the right voice to politically represent animals on record, film, or cartoon proved to be a long journey.
typeresearch exposition
keywordssound, Journal of sonic studies, Julian Huxley, Ludwig Koch, Soundbooks, London zoo, sound studies
date10/01/2017
published19/01/2017
last modified19/01/2017
statuspublished
share statusprivate
licenseAll rights reserved
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/325229/325230
published inJournal of Sonic Studies
portal issue13. Issue 13
connected toJournal of Sonic Studies


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325867 Screen Shot 2017-01-12 at 18.32.21 Bruyninckx All rights reserved
325368 Sommer_Figure 12 Woodson Research Center All rights reserved
325365 Sommer_Figure 11 Woodson Research Center All rights reserved
325347 Sommer_Figure 10 Woodson Research Center All rights reserved
325339 Sommer_Figure 9 Woodson Research Center All rights reserved
325328 Sommer_Figure 8 Koch All rights reserved
325323 Camelus mp3 VBR220 Seidl/Niggli All rights reserved
325320 AkEph_LN_Camel_2 Seidl. All rights reserved
325316 Camel1 Niggli All rights reserved
325313 AkEph_LN_Camel_1 Niggli All rights reserved
325310 Sommer_Figure7new Pryor Dodge All rights reserved
325301 Sommer_Figure 6 Koch All rights reserved
325299 Sommer_Figure5New Huxley All rights reserved
325278 Sommer_Figure 3 National Sound Archive, British Library All rights reserved
325270 Sommer_Figure2New Suschitzky All rights reserved
325261 Sommer_Figure 2 Suschitzky All rights reserved
325256 Sommer_Figure 2 Suschitzky All rights reserved
325253 Sommer_Figure 2 Suschitzky All rights reserved
325244 Sommer_Figure 1 Woodson Research Center All rights reserved
325236 sonicstudies-banner-964-3 JSS All rights reserved

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