Situated Listening

Grounded in a conviction that how we listen matters deeply in the context of ongoing social, political, and ecological crises, Situated Listening sets forth a collection of novel methodologies and creative proposals for listening, advancing the framework of situated listening as both a theoretical concept and a methodological practice.

Drawing the parameters of sound studies broadly, this 15-chapter book is written entirely collaboratively, and from a multidisciplinary perspective, and seeks to investigate the relationships between the listening body and the politics of place, space, and culture. Each section includes scores for situated listening, which take the form of diagrams, instructions, exercises, images, and meditations. The scores offer alternate modes of sharing the central ideas of the associated chapters, inviting the reader to shift from theory into practice. This book contributes to decolonial, feminist, anti-racist, and anti-capitalist scholarship in the field of sound studies, by centering listening as a situated and relational practice.

Situated Listening brings together a roster of accomplished, international contributors, making it essential supplementary reading for advanced undergraduates and researchers in sound studies. It will also be of interest to sound artists, as well as faculty and students in the fields of Music, Feminist Science and Technology Studies, and Urban Design.