Sound Culture in Modern China

4 credits · Undergraduate

This course introduces students to the key concepts and research methodologies of sound studies by examining how music, soundscapes, and auditory culture intersect with society, history, politics, and cultural identities in contemporary China. It will first explore key concepts such as soundscape, sonic culture, hearing and listening, and research methodologies of sounds studies in the field of Chinese studies. Afterwards, it will look at how sound was designed, created, shaped, practiced, listened to, and perceived in multiple mediums including musical performance, radio and audio dramas, as well as film, animation, and television in contemporary China. Students will be exposed to a variety of multimedia products that foreground the richness of sound culture. Through these works from the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, China, sound's function as a medium for expressing and constructing cultural identity and socio-political connotations will be explored.n