Soundscapes of Resistance: Amplifying social justice activism and aural counterpublics through field recording-based sound practices

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-210
Author(s):  
Nimalan Yoganathan
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
News Media ◽  
Electronic Music ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
Field Recordings ◽  
Field Recording ◽  
Police Encounters ◽  
Soundscape Studies

This article examines creative sound practitioners who audibly convey social justice commentary through their use of environmental soundscapes as source material. I discuss how micro-watt radio pioneer Mbanna Kantako, electronic music artist Muqata’a and audio activist Christopher DeLaurenti work with field recordings to produce subversive counter-narratives against news media and state discourses. I outline three specific sound projects as case studies: Kantako’s aural counter-surveillance of police encounters within the predominantly poor and Black neighbourhood of Springfield, Illinois; Muqata’a’s album Inkanakuntu (2018) composed using field recordings of Ramallah, West Bank; and DeLaurenti’s radio piece Fit the Description (2015) that incorporates field recordings of the protests following the 2014 police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. I argue that composing with soundscapes of contested urban spaces can function as sonic activism that confronts the oppressive soundscapes of systemic racism. The case studies are examined through the following common themes: 1) the use of what I term aural counterpublics to amplify marginalised voices and soundscapes of resistance, and 2) the radical re-appropriation of microphones and oppressive police and military audio technologies as a means of ‘speaking back’ to systems of power. Finally, I suggest how these case studies convey the need for intersectional and decolonised approaches to soundscape studies.

scholarly journals Conflicts challenge the Asian news media

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 230-233
Author(s):  
David Robie
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
News Media ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Special Edition

During the 1980s, I reported extensively on the indigenous Kanak struggle for political and social justice and independence in New Caledonia. Twice I was arrested by French troops in the course of my conflict reporting—once at gunpoint. (This saga was covered at length in my 1989 book Blood on their Banner.) Also, over this period I reported on social justice, human rights and conflicts in the Philippines, coediting a special edition of the journalists' union magazine Diarista. It is agaisnt this background- and also running a postgraduate course in Asia-Pacific Journalism- that i am reviewing these two books. Both are results of special projects in Asian journalism. Both are packed with case studies (13 in Media and Conflict and eight in Blood in thier Hands). 

It’s Deeper Than That!: Restorative Justice and the Challenge of Racial Reflexivity in White-led Schools

2021 ◽  
pp. 004208592199841
Author(s):  
Arthur Romano ◽  
Rochelle Arms Almengor
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
White Privilege ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
White Led ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
Systemic Racism

This paper uses critical race theory to analyze several case studies focused on the experiences of two restorative justice coordinators (RJCs), both Black women and how they understood and responded to perceived racial injustices in urban schools with white leadership. These schools were attempting to address unequal disciplinary practices toward students of color through restorative justice and the RJCs adapted their approaches to addressing racialized dynamics while also developing school-wide networks to foster broader critical reflection on race. They navigated the risks of challenging white privilege and systemic racism both of which at times limited their attempts at influencing change.

Bandstands and Modernity: Constructing Spanish Cities Musically

2021 ◽  
pp. 009614422097612
Author(s):  
Gloria Araceli Rodriguez-Lorenzo
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Cultural Changes ◽  
Urban Modernity ◽  
Sonic Environment

This article analyses the interplay between sound and urban spaces in Spain, from the end of nineteenth century until 1936. Free outdoor concerts performed by bands in public urban spaces offered a new aural experience audience from across an increasing range of very diverse social groups, almost ritualizing both the practice of listening to music and the spaces in which that music was heard—all at a time when those very spaces were changing, in a way which mirrored the wider reconfiguration and modernization of Spanish cities. Case studies focusing on political, social, and cultural changes in urban spaces are analyzed, in order to understand how cities developed new spaces for social interaction, the modern sonic environment, and the ways in which those cities have appropriated culture for their citizens, as a symbol of urban modernity.

scholarly journals ‘There Must Be a Poetry of Sound That None of Us Knows…’: Early British documentary film and the prefiguring of musique concrète

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-186
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Cox
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Electronic Music ◽  
Documentary Film ◽  
Post Office ◽  
Coal Face ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
History Of ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Musique Concrete

Standard histories of electronic music tend to trace the lineage of musique concrète as lying mainly in the Futurists’ declarations of the 1910s, through Cage’s ‘emancipation’ of noise in the 1930s, to Schaeffer’s work and codifications of the late 1940s and early 1950s. This article challenges this narrative by drawing attention to the work of filmmakers in the 1930s that foreshadowed the sound experiments of Pierre Schaeffer and thus offers an alternative history of their background. The main focus of the article is on the innovations within documentary film and specifically the sonic explorations in early British documentary that prefigured musique concrète, an area ignored by electronic music studies. The theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the documentary movement’s members, particularly their leader John Grierson, will be compared with those of Pierre Schaeffer, and the important influence of Russian avant-garde filmmaking on the British (and musique concrète) will be addressed. Case studies will focus on the groundbreaking soundtracks of two films made by the General Post Office Film Unit that feature both practical and theoretical correspondences to Schaeffer: 6.30 Collection (1934) and Coal Face (1935). Parallels between the nature and use of technologies and how this affected creative outputs will also be discussed, as will the relationship of the British documentary movement’s practice and ideas to post-Schaefferian ‘anecdotal music’ and the work of Luc Ferrari.

scholarly journals London Street Noises: A Ground-Breaking Field Recording Campaign from 1928

Acoustics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-136
Author(s):  
John L. Drever ◽  
Aysegul Yildirim ◽  
Mattia Cobianchi
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sound ◽  
Daily Mail ◽  
Recording Technology ◽  
The Public ◽  
Field Recordings ◽  
Field Recording ◽  
Subsequent Discussion ◽  
History Of ◽  
Regulatory Bodies ◽  
The Uk

In a leading article by Sir Percival Philips in the UK popular newspaper, the Daily Mail, July 16, 1928, came the following headlines: “Millions Lost by Noise – Cities’ Worst Plague – Menace to Nerves and Health – What is Being Done to Stop it”. The article was supported by research from Prof Henry J. Spooner, who had been researching and campaigning on the ill-effects of noise and its economic impact. The article sparked subsequent discussion and follow-up articles in the Daily Mail and its international partners. In an era of rapid technological change, that was on the cusp of implementing sound pressure measurements, the Daily Mail, in collaboration with the Columbia Graphophone Company Ltd, experimented with sound recording technology and commentary in the field to help communicate perceived loudness and identify the sources of “unnecessary noise”. This resulted in the making of series of environmental sound recordings from five locations across central London during September 1928, the findings of which were documented and discussed in the Daily Mail at the time, and two recordings commercially released by Columbia on shellac gramophone disc. This was probably the first concerted anti-noise campaign of this type and scale, requiring huge technological efforts. The regulatory bodies and politicians of the time reviewed and improved the policies around urban noise shortly after the presentation of the recordings, which were also broadcast from the BBC both nationally and internationally, and many members of the public congratulated and thanked the Daily Mail for such an initiative. Despite its unpreceded scale and impact, and the recent scholarly attention on the history of anti-noise campaigning, this paper charts and contextualises the Daily Mail’s London Street Noise campaign for the first time. As well as historical research, this data has also been used to start a longitudinal comparative study still underway, returning to make field recordings on the site on the 80th and 90th anniversaries and during the COVID-19 lockdown, and shared on the website londonstreetnoises.co.uk.

European cities facing climate change: water management issue

BUILDER ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (7) ◽  
pp. 78-85
Author(s):  
Sebastian Dziedzic ◽  
Agata Twardoch
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Management Issue ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Integrated Approaches

The article provides an overview of spatial and legal solutions related to the issue of water management in cities in the context of climate change. The aim of the research is to identify the main differences between the traditional and integrated approaches to water-related infrastructure based on case studies of European Cities at different scales. Gathering, ordering and comparing adequate solutions will allow to establish guidelines for the development of Polish cities and point out directions for architects and urban planners designing urban spaces. The comparison of good examples with theory would make it possible to verify whether practise corresponds with theory, and whether it can actually - through the synergy of measures – bring new quality to urban areas.

Innovative Upgrading of Heritage Buildings: Structural Case Studies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kribanandan Gurusamy Naidu
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Adaptive Reuse ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Masonry Buildings ◽  
Fair Share ◽  
Visual Appearance ◽  
Heritage Buildings ◽  
Proper Design ◽  
Structural Case

<p>The challenge of integrating old and new in the development of urban spaces is constrained by commercial realities and an ignorance of the value of maintaining historical relevance as society develops. Malaysia has had its fair share of such historical gems being destroyed without much consideration for heritage but there also exists significant projects where proper design and engineering have been applied for conservation and adaptive reuse.</p><p>In this paper innovative options for structural upgrading of masonry buildings is considered using techniques which provide a basis for achieving structural integrity without compromising the visual appearance and historical value. This includes examples of a shop house upgraded following significant settlement due to adjacent construction and an adaptive reuse of a school which was converted into a theatre.</p>

scholarly journals Field Recording or Field Observation?: Audio Meets Method in Qualitative Research

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Smiley
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Field Observation ◽  
Art Music ◽  
Social Setting ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Field Recordings ◽  
Field Recording ◽  
Clifford Geertz ◽  
Preliminary Research ◽  
Pauline Oliveros

The field observation, an ethnographic practice of collecting data and information about a given social setting and situation is often used in preliminary research to have an understanding of the community one is researching. However, from an artist/musician's perspective, the field observation has many commonalities with techniques used in audio field recording. How can field recording be used in parallel with field observations to explore and understand a community through art? This essay will begin with a comparison of field observations and field recordings as methods in their own disciplines, and continue with the concept of “attention” in art, music, science and anthropology. It will follow and conclude with a project that looks at combining qualitative research and art to explore a community of gardeners through recorded interviews and sounds. The work of Pauline Oliveros, Walter S. Gershon, Clifford Geertz, Anne McCrary Sullivan, and Steven Feld will be important in making the connections across disciplines.

From the East River to the Sea

Arab New York ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 113-144
Author(s):  
Emily Regan Wills
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Arab Americans ◽  
Muslim American ◽  
Detailed Case ◽  
East River ◽  
Activist Groups

This chapter documents the diversity within Arab-led activism for Palestinians, through detailed case studies of two different activist groups, Adalah-NY and Al-Awda NY. While Al-Awda draws its membership and discourses from the recently-immigrated communities of New York and New Jersey, Adalah-NY is oriented towards international discourses of solidarity and social justice. The different ways that identities (such as Arab, Palestinian, Muslim, American, and Jewish) are used by these organizations represent different responses to the problems of political engagement that Arab Americans and their political allies face.

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