Sound and Society
| Module title | Sound and Society |
|---|---|
| Module code | ANT3090 |
| Academic year | 2024/5 |
| Credits | 15 |
| Module staff | Professor Tom Rice (Convenor) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 11 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 30 |
|---|
Module description
This module explores the relationships between culture and the acoustic worlds in which people live. You will consider how the production and reception or interpretation of sound is shaped by human belief and practice. You will consider questions such as: What role does sound play in cultural and social life, past and present, close and distant? Why is a ‘sound’ in one community considered to be another's ‘noise’? How do these differences or distinctions change over time? This course draws on material from anthropology and sociology, but also from a wide range of other disciplines including history, social geography and cultural studies. You will be encouraged to think and respond creatively, using listening as a way of accessing social life, and sound recording as a way of documenting or representing it.
Module aims - intentions of the module
-To explore ways in which the production and consumption of sound are bound up in social relations and practices.
- To question cultural assumptions about the nature and possibilities of sound and listening.
- To examine how key concepts (for example, ideas of 'place' and 'space') may be re-configured through acoustic perspectives.
- To consider the implications of 'thinking acoustically' for anthropological methodology and analysis.
- To interrogate listening and sound recording as ways of engaging with and representing social life.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Give effective explanations of how a range of key texts give insight into the involvement of sound in social relations:
- 2. Make strong critical assessments of a variety of theoretical perspectives in anthropological and sociological approaches to the study of sound
- 3. Accurately identify and cogently discuss some methodological issues associated with the study of sound in anthropology and sociology
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 4. Give clear and accurate explanations of how a range of key concepts in sociology and anthropology can be illustrated in relation to the analysis of empirical data
- 5. Communicate effectively, both in writing and orally, an awareness of strategies for analytically linking micro and macro perspectives
- 6. Demonstrate skill in critically assessing and developing theoretical ideas through reflection on experiences and observations of social life
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Show an ability to produce effective independent research and analysis
- 8. Effectively build and defend an argument based on evidence
- 9. Communicate effectively in written and verbal form.
Syllabus plan
Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:
1) Sound, Space and Place
2) Acoustemology
3) Audible Pasts
4) Noise
5) Sound and Surveillance
6) Sound and Control
7) Sound and Sensory Politics
8) Listening as a methodology
9) Professional listening practices
10) Anthropology in Sound
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 128 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity | 22 | 11 x 2 hour lectures/seminars |
| Guided Independent Study | 40 | Examination preparation |
| Guided Independent Study | 42 | Module reading |
| Guided Independent Study | 26 | Essay writing |
| Guided Independent Study | 20 | Seminar preparation |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation | 5 minutes | 1-9 | Written |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | 0 | 0 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 50 | 1,500 words | 1-9 | Written feedback |
| Listening report | 50 | 1,500 words | 1-9 | Written feedback |
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 | ||||
| 0 |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | Essay (1,500 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
| Listening Report | Listening Report (1,500 words) | 1-9 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Bijsterveld, K. 2003.‘The Diabolical Symphony of the Mechanical Age. Technology and Symbolism of Sound in European and North American Noise Abatement Campaigns, 1900-1940’. In The Auditory Culture Reader (eds) M. Bull & L. Back, 165-189. Oxford: Berg.
Corbin, A. 1998. Village bells: sound and meaning in the nineteenth-century French countryside. New York: Columbia University Press.
Feld, S. 1990. Sound and Sentiment: birds, weeping, poetics, and song in Kaluli expression. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press
Picker, J. M. 2003. Victorian Soundscapes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rice, T. 2013. Hearing and the Hospital. Canon Pyon: Sean Kingston Press.
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
Anthropology and Sound - online resource produced through a collaboration between the Centre for Creative Research in Sound Arts Practice at the London College of Communication and the Anthropology Department at the University of St Andrews - http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/soundanth/index.php
Cusick, S. 2006. ‘Music as torture: Music as weapon’. Transcultural Music Review 10. http://www.sibetrans.com/trans/a152/music-as-torture-music-as-weapon.
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
Drever, J. 2005. Sounding Dartmoor. iDAT.
Feld, S. 1991. Voices of the Rainforest. Rykodisc.
Rice, T. 2015. Govindpuri Sound. BBC World Service Documentary.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02hm1rx
Wynne, J. 2007. Hearts, Lungs and Minds. BBC Radio 4 documentary.
| Credit value | 15 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 7.5 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 6 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 21/01/2013 |
| Last revision date | 13/01/2022 |
