Sonic Agency: Sound and Emergent Forms of Resistance (Goldsmiths Press / Sonics Series (1))

In a world dominated by the visual, could contemporary resistance be auditory? Sonic Agency highlights sound’s invisible, disruptive, and affective qualities, and asks whether the unseen nature of sound can support a political transformation. In this timely and important book, author Brandon LaBelle sets out to engage contemporary social and political crises by way of sonic thought and imagination. He divides sound’s functions into four figures of resistance – the invisible, the overheard, the itinerant and the weak – and argues for their role in creating alternative “unlikely publics” in which to foster mutuality and dissent. He highlights existing sonic cultures and social initiatives that utilize or deploy sound and listening to address conflict, and points to their work as models for a wider movement. By examining the experience of listening and being heard, LaBelle illuminates a path from the margins toward hope, citizenship, and vibrancy. When the current climate has left many feeling they have lost their voice, it may be sound itself which restores it to them. A timely exploration of whether sound and listening can be the basis of political change. In a world dominated by the visual, could contemporary resistances be auditory? This timely and important book from Goldsmiths Press highlights sound's invisible, disruptive, and affective qualities and asks whether the unseen nature of sound can support a political transformation. In Sonic Agency, Brandon LaBelle sets out to engage contemporary social and political crises by way of sonic thought and imagination. He divides sound's functions into four figures of resistance -- the invisible, the overheard, the itinerant, and the weak -- and argues for their role in creating alternative "unlikely publics" in which to foster mutuality and dissent. He highlights existing sonic cultures and social initiatives that utilize or deploy sound and listening to address conflict, and points to their work as models for a wider movement. He considers issues of disappearance and hidden culture, nonviolence and noise, creole poetics, and networked life, aiming to unsettle traditional notions of the "space of appearance" as the condition for political action and survival. By examining the experience of listening and being heard, LaBelle illuminates a path from the fringes toward hope, citizenship, and vibrancy. In a current climate that has left many feeling they have lost their voices, it may be sound itself that restores it to them The Book Proposes A Multi-dimensional Understanding On Sound And Listening As Capacities For Challenging Social And Political Structures Of Inequality And Domination, Supporting Interpersonal Exchange And Modes Of Community-building Based On Empathy, Care And Compassion-- Brandon Labelle. Includes Bibliographical References (pages [164]-171) And Index. Contents......Page 7 1. Unlikely Publics: On the Edge of Appearance......Page 11 2. The Invisible......Page 39 3. The Overheard......Page 70 4. The Itinerant......Page 101 5. The Weak......Page 134 6. Poor Acoustics: Listening from Below......Page 164 Bibliography......Page 174 Index......Page 182