Sound, Acoustics, and the Politics of Listening

Talk online in English - Live streaming on Atlas of Transitions Facebook and YouTube channels Curated by Brandon LaBelle in dialogue with Christine Eyene and Hypatia Vourloumis

In Beyond the Periphery of the Skin, Silvia Federici affirms that today’s capitalistic system imposes the need to listen to our body in order to reestablish its power: “Our bodies have reasons that we must understand, rediscover, reinvent. Our health and healing require to listen to our body language just like our planet’s health depends on our ability to listen and understand the rhythm of nature.” According to Federici’s invitation, how can we actually understand what listening to the body means? In which sense can the body be listened to? How does listening engage questions of positionality? in which ways does the body accommodate or resist?

The seminar investigates the social and political dimensions of the act of listening, focusing on affective and epistemological potentials. From listening-to to listening-with, from in-depth-listening to antagonistic listening; the act of listening further prompts consideration of the acoustic arrangements and economies that have an impact on emancipatory and creative practices. Listening reveals the ways in which our body does not simply belong to us only but is rather connected through social, family and institutional bonds. The seminar invites to reflect on collaborative sound and listening and how they operate within the practices.