Journal of Sonic Studies launch

Launch of the special issue of The Journal of Sonic Studies on ‘Voice and Listening: Techniques for Political Life’

Friday 10 March 4-5:30PM
Register for online participation here
Register for face-to-face participation here (in The Shell, Ground Floor Parkside building)

 Guest Co-Editors: Fadia Dakka, Kirsten Forkert, Ed McKeon, Jill Robinson and Ian Sergeant  

Contributors:Ximena Alarcón-Díaz & Ed McKeon, Sarah Amsler, Kate Lacey, Sipho Ndlovu and Ryan Sinclair, Rajni Shah, Rodrigo Toro and Donovan Hernández, and Tom Western.

We are launching the special issue of the Journal of Sonic Studies on ‘Voice and Listening as Techniques for Political Life’: a forum for contributions across cultural studies, performance studies, political geography, social science, deep listening, sound art, and performance poetry.

The editors and contributors will discuss their contributions both online and in person, and the event will include a spoken word performance by the poets Sipho Ndlovu and Ryan Sinclair, and a closing performance by sound artist and Deep Listening practitioner Ximena Alarcón-Díaz.

About the special issue:

When we staged our one-day symposium on this topic at Birmingham City University in March 2021, we were marking the anniversary of the UK’s first lockdown during the global pandemic. With tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths already recorded and unbearable strain on hospitals, doctors, and other public services, it felt urgently important to take time out with others to both gain a better understanding of the current situation as well as to discover strategies for action and renewal.

Perhaps it was the enforced isolation and withdrawal from public space that prompted our attention towards matters of voice and listening. Congregating with others had been restricted by law. Social media began to function as a kind of proxy or ersatz political arena, yet this mediation of everyday political practice brought with it a host of distortions. . As we know only too well, algorithms amplify some opinions and diminish others, demanding our prolonged attention with distractions, rage, and outrage. 

We are grateful to the editors of the Journal for giving us this opportunity to pause and reflect further, to invite a global array of contributions, and to share this with a broader public. This is an urgent discussion to be had and we invite you to take part. In addition to reading and listening to the different pieces, do join us for our live hybrid launch event on Friday 10 March, 4-5:30pm GMT. 

Communication is not a one-way street and we want to listen and hear your thoughts as well as to embrace practices of voicing and listening that reflect the values that this special issue is designed to promote.