Sounding Bodies

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course will situate sound studies and social aesthetics in the corporeal techniques of expanded listening, particularly when the artistic medium of sound crosses the boundaries of the brain, body, architectural space, and material objects. As auditory culture has moved from the concert hall and music venue into galleries, museums, outdoor public spaces, and digital contexts, cultural practitioners have been prompted to ask how bodies perceive, understand, and evaluate the sounds they encounter. With a rich literature on sound, space, and embodiment, this course will not only survey sonic works in music and the gallery arts but also the ways that technological advancements have changed performance, exhibition, and the perceptual capabilities of bodies.