Soundscapes of New York: Capturing and Mapping Cultures through Sound and Music

Catalog description

Cities are a noisy, frenzied, chaotic places. New York City is especially so. However, embedded within the urban cacophony are acoustic signatures that uniquely characterize the rich multi-cultural tapestry of races, ethnicities, and rituals that embody New York. This class will explore the unique sonic worlds often hidden amidst the din of New York's noise to create a cultural map of the city, simultaneously learning to listen to and capture the acoustic characters of the City, while introducing 'sound studies' as an emerging research domain in the humanities and sciences. New York City is an ideal place to explore and experience the myriad of cultures through the innumerable musical and linguistic dialects that create the fabric of the city. Integrating the concept of the soundscape, ethnographic inquiry, history, and some science of acoustics and psychoacoustics, the class will comprise interdisciplinary perspectives on the Humanities and Sciences.