Soundscapes of Berlin - Listening Perspectives / Berliner Klanglandschaften - Hörperspektiven - Detailseite

ECTS Points: 5

Language requirements: min. English B2 and basic German A1-A2

Berlin and its diverse sounds are the topic of this course. However, we will not try to reduce Berlin to a few characteristic sounds but rather develop a listening perspective to discover the city. Throughout the course students will have the opportunity to develop, sharpen and sensitize their hearing perception and thus discover their environment in a new way. During sound walks in different places across Berlin we will collect sounds by recording them or by writing listening journals. These collected sounds will be discussed in class. Additionally, readings from the interdisciplinary field of Sound Studies with a focus on research on urban sounds will be introduced. They form the basis for exercises, assignments and academic discussions in class. Questions of sound anthropology and ethnographic research will be prominently dealt with. A cross-section topic throughout the course deals with the notion of ‘self’ and ‘other’– an issue worth discussing for short-term as well as for long-term dwellers in Berlin.

The bilingual concept of the course is implemented through speaking as well as through writing exercises. Different group work formats and short presentations facilitate an active participation of each student in discussions and thus train verbal comprehension and expression skills in German. However, English is the lingua franca in class.

Bijsterveld, Karin, ed. 2013. Soundscapes of the Urban Past : Staged Sound as Mediated Cultural Heritage. Bielefeld: transcript.

Chambers, Iain. 2004. „The Aural Walk“. In: Christoph Cox, Daniel Warner, Hrsgs. Audio Culture : Readings in Modern Music. New York ua: Continuum. pp. 98-101.

Chion, Michael. 2012. „The Three Listening Modes“. In: Jonathan Sterne. The Sound Studies Reader. London ua: Routledge. pp. 48-53

Cusack, Peter. 2012. Berlin Sonic Places. Website.

Feld, Steven. 2015. “Acoustemology”. In: David Novak and Matt Sakakeeny, eds. 2015. Keywords in Sound. Durham ; London: Duke University Press Books: pp.12-21.

Ingold, Tim. 2000. „Stop, look and listen! Vision, hearing and human movement.“ In: idem. The Perception of the Environment. London; New York: Routledge. S. 243-287.

Ingold, Tim. 2007. „Against Soundscape“. In. Angus Carlyle. Autumn Leaves: Sound and the Environment in Artistic Practice. Paris, France: Association Double-Entendre. pp. 10-13.

Konzerthausorchester Berlin. 2017. „#klangberlins“ volumes 1-12. youtube.

Kytö, Meri. 2013. „Sound Diary Istanbul – Acoustemological Musings From The Field.“ In: Angus Carlyle und Cathy Lane. On Listening. Axminster: Uniformbooks. pp. 79-82.

LaBelle, Brandon. 2012. „Auditory Relations“. In: Jonathan Sterne. The Sound Studies Reader. London et al: Routledge. pp. 469-474.

McLuhan, Marshall. 2012. „Visual and Acoustic Space“. In: Christoph Cox, Daniel Warner, Hrsgs. Audio Culture : Readings in Modern Music. New York et al: Continuum. pp. 67-72.

Meelberg, Vincent and Marcel Cobussen. 2011. „Reflections on Sonic Environment“. In. Journal of Sonic Studies, volume 1, no. 1 (October)

Noll, Udo. 2017. „Radio Aporee“. aporee.org. and radioaporee.blogspot.de.

Schafer, R. Murray. 2004 [1973]. “The Music of the Environment”. In: Christoph Cox, Daniel
Warner, eds. Audio Culture : Readings in Modern Music. New York ua: Continuum. pp. 29-39.

Stahl, Heiner. 2013. „Preparing for Landing, Ready for Take-Off. Zoning Noise Pollution as Spatio-Temporal Practices at Berlin-Tegel and Berlin-Tempelhof Airport (1965-1975)“. Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung 38 (3 (145)): pp. 229–245.

Sterne, Jonathan. 2012. „Sonic Imaginations.“ In: idem. The Sound Studies Reader. London ua: Routledge. pp. 1-18.

Thibaud, Jean-Paul. 2003 „The Sonic Composition of the City“. In Michael Bull, Les Back. The Auditory Culture Reader. Oxford, UK; New York: Berg., pp. 329–41.

Thibaud, Jean-Paul. 2011. „A Sonic Paradigm of Urban Ambiances.“ Journal of Sonic Studies, volume 1, no. 1 (October).

Urban, Felix. 2016. Acoustic Competence: Investigating Sonic Empowerment in Urban Cultures. Marburg: Tectum.

Westerkamp, Hidegard. 2007 [1974]. „Soundwalking“. In: Angus Carlyle. Autumn Leaves: Sound and the Environment in Artistic Practice. Paris, France: Association Double-Entendre. pp. 49-54.

Lane, Cathy. 2013. “Hildegard Westerkamp” (Interview). In: Cathy Lane and Angus Carlyle. In the Field: The Art of Field Recording. Axminster: Uniformbooks. pp. 109-122.

Wissmann, Torsten. 2014. Geographies of urban sound. Farnham, Surrey, England ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing.

This seminar carries 5 ECTS.

For international incoming students and HU students.

Language requirements English B2 minimum and basic German A1-A2.

NO registration via Agnes.

Application via Berlin Perspectives ONLY: BP Module application

Internationale Programmstudierende / International exchange students.

HU-Studierende im ÜWP.