The first edition of The Auditory Culture Reader offered an introduction to both classical and recent work on auditory culture, laying the foundations for new academic research in sound studies. Today, interest and research on sound thrives across disciplines such as music, anthropology, geography, sociology and cultural studies as well as within the new interdisciplinary sphere of sound studies itself. This second edition reflects on the changes to the field since the first edition and offers a vast amount of new content, a user-friendly organization which highlights key themes and concepts, and a methodologies section which addresses practical questions for students setting out on auditory explorations. All essays are accessible to non-experts and encompass scholarship from leading figures in the field, discussing issues relating to sound and listening from the broadest set of interdisciplinary perspectives. Inspiring students and researchers attentive to sound in their work, newly-commissioned and classical excerpts bring urban research and ethnography alive with sensory case studies that open up a world beyond the visual. This book is core reading for all courses that cover the role of sound in culture, within sound studies, anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, history, media studies and urban geography.
Biography
Michael Bull is Professor of Sound Studies at the University of Sussex, UK. He has published widely in the field of sound studies. He is a founding member of The European Association of Sound Studies and is the editor and co-founder of the journals The Senses and Society and Sound Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal (both Bloomsbury).Les Back is Professor of Sociology at Goldsmith’s College, University of London, UK. He has written and edited numerous books on race, music and multiculturalism.
"This is a wonderful update to the original Auditory Culture Reader. It is on par in terms of quality and interest with the recent sound studies handbooks offered by Routledge and OUP. The new introduction and selected chapters provide an excellent overview of the state of things in sound studies. This is certainly among the most up-to-date and authoritative statements on the subject. - Kyle Devine, University of Oslo, Norway An excellent introduction to this little-known field. It will certainly stimulate readers to listen more actively and critically, and help them gain a greater appreciation of the importance of sound in their own and others' lives. - Media International Australia (of the first edition)"
