Sonic Interventions makes a compelling case for the importance of sound in theorizing literature, subjectivity and culture. Sound is usually understood as our second sense and – as our belief in a visually dominated culture prevails – remains of secondary interest. Western cultures are considered to be predominantly visual, while other societies are thought to place more importance on the acoustic dimension. This volume questions these assumptions by examining how sound differs from, and acts in relationship to, the visual. It moves beyond theoretical dichotomies (between the visual and the sonic, the oral and literature) and, instead, investigates sonic interventions in their often multi-faceted forms. The case studies deal with political appropriations of music and sounds, they explore the poetic use of the sonic in novels and plays, they develop theoretical concepts out of sonic phenomena, and pertain to identity formation and the practice of mixing in hip hop, opera and dancehall sessions. Ultimately, the book brings to the fore what roles sound may play for the formation of gendered identity, for the stabilization or questioning of race as a social category, and the conception of place. Their intricate interventions beckon critical attention and offer rich material for cultural analysis.

Artistic Research: Charting a Field in Expansion provides a multidisciplinary overview of different discourses and practices, exploring cutting-edge questions from the burgeoning field of artistic research. Intended as a primer on artistic research, it presents diverse perspectives, strategies, methodologies, and concrete examples of research projects situated at the crossroads of art and academia, exposing international work of significant projects from Europe, Asia, Australia, South and North America. The book includes chapters on diverse fields of thought and practice, addressing a common thread of questions and problematics. The comprehensive editors’ introduction offers a much-needed extensive overview of practice-based artistic research in general. This book is ideal for graduate students across philosophy, cultural studies, art, music, performance studies and more.

The reggae sound system has exerted a major influence on music and popular culture. Out on the streets of inner city Kingston, Jamaica, every night, sound systems stage dancehall sessions for the crowd to share the immediate, intensive and immersive visceral pleasures of sonic dominance. Sonic Bodies concentrates on the skilled performance of the crewmembers responsible for this signature sound of Jamaican music: the audio engineers designing, building and fine-tuning the hugely powerful "sets" of equipment; the selectors choosing the music tracks to play; and MCs(DJs) on the mic hyping up the crowd. Julian Henriques proposes that these dancehall "vibes" are taken literally as the periodic motion of vibrations. He offers an analysis of how a sound system operates - at auditory, corporeal and sociocultural frequencies. Sonic Bodies formulates a fascinating critique of visual dominance and the dualities inherent in ideas of image, text or discourse. This innovative book questions the assumptions that reason resides only in a disembodied mind, that communication is an exchange of information, and that meaning is only ever representation.

The field of Sound Studies has changed and developed dramatically over the last two decades involving a vast and dizzying array of work produced by those working in the arts, social sciences and sciences. The study of sound is inherently interdisciplinary and is undertaken both by those who specialize in sound and by others who wish to include sound as an intrinsic and indispensable element in their research. This is the first resource to provide a wide ranging, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary investigation and analysis of the ways in which researchers use a broad range of methodologies in order to pursue their sonic investigations. It brings together 49 specially commissioned chapters that ask a wide range of questions including; how can sound be used in current academic disciplines? Is sound as a methodological tool indispensable for Sound Studies and what can sound artists contribute to the discourse on methodology in Sound Studies? The editors also present 3 original chapters that work as provocative 'sonic methodological interventions' prefacing the 3 sections of the book.

Sonic Interventions makes a compelling case for the importance of sound in theorizing literature, subjectivity and culture. Sound is usually understood as our second sense and – as our belief in a visually dominated culture prevails – remains of secondary interest. Western cultures are considered to be predominantly visual, while other societies are thought to place more importance on the acoustic dimension. This volume questions these assumptions by examining how sound differs from, and acts in relationship to, the visual. It moves beyond theoretical dichotomies (between the visual and the sonic, the oral and literature) and, instead, investigates sonic interventions in their often multi-faceted forms. The case studies deal with political appropriations of music and sounds, they explore the poetic use of the sonic in novels and plays, they develop theoretical concepts out of sonic phenomena, and pertain to identity formation and the practice of mixing in hip hop, opera and dancehall sessions. Ultimately, the book brings to the fore what roles sound may play for the formation of gendered identity, for the stabilization or questioning of race as a social category, and the conception of place. Their intricate interventions beckon critical attention and offer rich material for cultural analysis.

The concept of the “Soundscapes” includes all of the sounds in one’s environment and focuses not only on the sounds itself. Instead, it focuses on the interrelationships between person and activity and place, both in space and time. Soundscape also include influences on the acoustic environment through auditory sensation, its interpretation, and the responses to the acoustic environment in context. The conceptual framework of Soundscape describes the “process of perceiving or experiencing and/or understanding an acoustic environment, highlighting general concepts and their relationships: context, sound sources, acoustic environment, auditory sensation, interpretation of auditory sensation, responses, and outcomes” (International Organization for Standardization, ISO 12913-1:2014 Acoustics Soundscape Part Definition and Conceptual Framework, ISO, Geneva, 2014). With soundscape, one achieves a deeper understanding of acoustic environment and its effects on people. The ISO standard 12931-1 on soundscape provides an important, and rigorous, distinction in the use of “Soundscape.” But, it is recognizable that some individuals, particularly planners, designers, lay persons, and even those primarily interested in management of the acoustic environment through environmental noise control, will find it convenient to use “Soundscape” as a synonym for the physical acoustic environment. When it comes to noise management and urban planning, soundscape research has the potential to promote healthy urban environments by sharing and incorporating the significant knowledge of all concerned parties. Understandably, this shows that the communication with regard to noise management has to be forced to guarantee that the specifics of Soundscapes (i.e., the relevance of perception) are seriously considered alongside the whole. This book will bridge the gap between soundscape theory and practice and therefore it will be different from our earlier publications as “Soundscape and the built environment” (ed. by J. Kang and B. Schulte-Fortkamp CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, Fl 2016) and also from the respective Special Issues on Soundscapes in 2012 in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (ed. by B. Schulte-Fortkamp and J. Kang), and also the Special Issue in Acta Acustica 2006 *(ed. by B. Schulte-Fortkamp and D. Dubois), and the E-book on soundscape This volume will be driven by the difficult process of standardization of Soundscape and its evaluation procedures. The main goal of the proposed volume is to present and review the developments in Soundscape, reflecting the standardization procedure and the diverse inputs. the needs in management and planning in urban acoustic environments, the book will also focus on the difficulties, as well as the solutions, in interdisciplinary grounded communication, that is, on the one hand, related to science, but on the other to application, that needs guidance.

Our studies of aesthetics and knowledge have long tended to privilege the visual - at the expense, Wolfgang Ernst argues, of the aural. 'Sonic Time Machines' aims to correct that, presenting a striking new approach to theorising sound that investigates its split existence: as a temporal effect in a techno-cultural context and as a source of knowledge and information. Ernst creates a new term for the concept at the heart of the book, "sonicity," a flexible and powerful term that allows him to consider sound with all its many physical, philosophical, and cultural valences.