ABSTRACT
The chapter underscores acoustics as a critical and creative framework. In particular, acoustics is emphasized not only as a property of space, or as a knowledge within the field of physics, but equally as a social and political question. In what ways do acoustic norms shape the experiences and capacities of listening and attunement within certain environments? In this sense, acoustics is highlighted as a performative arena, giving way to specific understandings and acts of relationality. This leads to investigating how acoustics functions as the basis for a range of practices that, following Sara Ahmed, undertake the work of social and bodily reorientation. Through acoustic practices of rhythm and echo, noise and vibration, for example, experiences of belonging and unbelonging, recognition and misrecognition, are worked through, giving way to what Gillian Siddall and Ellen Waterman term “negotiated moments.” This critical view allows for shifting understandings of agency based solely on appearance and recognizability – a making visible. Rather, the chapter considers how the capacity to shift volumes, to rework rhythms, to retune or detune dominant tonalities of particular situations may assist in nurturing forms of togetherness or escape.
