PMA 5104

Sound, Music, Public Space

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2024-2025.

What do we learn when we turn an ear to the commons? Who determines what sounds are desirable or undesirable in a community and what are the stakes of that negotiation when it comes to public space? This seminar will study the ways that individuals and communities use sound and music to self-identify, claim space, and shape their public spaces. We will engage the work of artists who have called our attention to the social aspects of listening. We will listen to public art projects, films, concerts, field recordings, installations, informal sonic practices, and political interventions as we read about the contested control of public space.

When Offered Spring.

• Be able discuss the ways that individuals and communities use sound and music to self-identify, claim, and shape their public spaces.
• Be able to respond to the spatial situations, policies, and community dynamics that determine public sound events critically and creatively.
• Be able to propose and create projects that respond to a public space, are manifested within a public space, and engage the listening public.

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