This conference seeks to critically investigate the potentials and pitfalls of the "material

turn" through the medium of sound. We invite submissions that test, challenge, or refine

materialist theories by examining the "acoustic state": from the state of matter in

vibration, the political State's governance of the sonic realm to the affect of the social.

The recent "material turn" challenges us to reconsider the foundations of the

humanities, the production of the voice, [anti/]biography of bodies (human or

non-human; musical or otherwise), embodiment and the social and politicized

relationship an object holds to its surroundings. We are invested in exploring the tension

between performer/audience, ethnographer/informant, instrument/player, and so forth. A

central question which arises from this endeavour is what are the potentials and pitfalls

of an analysis that privileges the agency of matter?

The conference will address themes including, but not limited to:

● Sonic governance, power and the history of noise abatement

● The affective labor of the voice and its limits

● Embodiment, affect and sensory connection

● Listening practices and rituals of formation

● The sonic materiality of infrastructure vs. its political meaning

We especially encourage submissions with a strong regional focus that will contribute to

our global conversation. Areas of particular interest include:

● East Asia: Particularly acoustic states in Japan, Korea, and Greater China.

● South & Southeast Asia: Sound, ritual, and the political in historical and

contemporary contexts.

● Latin America: The role of sound in social movements and cultural articulation.

● Africa: Sonic modernities, postcolonial soundscapes, and the politics of listening.

We are also particularly interested in different modes of scholarship and medium, such

as audio papers, film screenings, workshops and experimental forms.

Submit here: https://docs.google.com/forms/u/1/d/1ygTIlDl4oW4Tv6zOht056UB84f9_uQUQeWu...