Perhaps no topic related to sound has proved simultaneously so elusive and so irresistible, not just to scholars of sound but also to composers, authors, politicians and many others. In our last session, Wolfgang Ernst related the expeditions launched by the late Friedrich Kittler along the Amalfi coast in search of the “true” acoustic secrets of the Sirens of antiquity. The voice became an object to study and also a way of further interrogating what sound is and how it exists in the world. Taking the voice as a starting point, our final regular session in Hearing Modernity presents Brian Massumi and Steven Connor, two scholars whose work defies any simple disciplinary description. Their papers romp through terrain as varied as neuroscience and notions of presence to surveillance and other forms of “sadistic listening.” Join us on Monday, April 14, 2014 at 4:15 pm in Holden Chapel for what promises to be a lively conversation.
In addition, earlier in the day, the Intonarumori series will host artist Christof Migone, who will discuss his own work in relation to the voice. That event takes place in the Alfond Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, 12:30-2 pm.
