A Sonic Anthropocene. Sound Practices in a Changing Environment

Abstract

The introduction to this double issue entitled "A Sonic Anthropocene: Sound Practices in a Changing Environment" explores some of the concepts and methodological issues that inform our understanding of what we call the "Sonic Anthropocene". We argue that incorporating practices of listening and aural documentation that register the transformations in the acoustic landscape creates a space of potential for examining the increasing impact of human activity on the environment. This introduction is divided into six sections. First, we provide an overview of the notion of the Anthropocene. Secondly, we explore the relationship between sound, environment and perception as cultivated by different strands of scholarship. Thirdly, we discuss the capacity of ethnography to generate new insights into the conditions of life in the Anthropocene. With this in mind, we highlight various examples of collaboration between environmental sound artists, researchers, and activists. Lastly, we introduce the essays included in this first volume. Ultimately, this double issue seeks to contribute toward sounding the Anthropocene by placing sound at the centre of an interdisciplinary conversation about the economic, social, cultural, political and ecological processes that underlie the currently ongoing planetary transformations.

Listening “Care-Fully”: Acoustemologies of Hope in the Face of Human-Made Environmental Degradation

“…The case studies demonstrate: (1) how intimate relationships between diverse audiences and environments are generated through eco-acoustic engagement; and (2) how this can be put to creative use to advocate for an alternative imagining of the buen vivir. This adds to the Sonic Anthropocene Project (Louro et al 2021), a critical and practical approach to place, and shows how multi-sited acoustemology can stimulate wellbeing on a damaged planet.…”

“…Drawing on Stephen Feld's concept of "acoustemology" (Feld 1982), the article offers a complementary perspective to other eco-acoustic engagements with sound and place, as spelled out in the contributions to the double Special Issue of Cadernos de Arte e Antropologia, "A Sonic Anthropocene" (Louro et al 2021). Feld's approach is applied here in a multi-sited setting that interlinks diverse localities, narrations, symbolisms and cultural landscapes.…”

Metrology applied to Human Ecology: critical analysis of geospatial data for regionalization of Brazilian Anthromes

“…In a constantly changing world, ecosystem changes are increasingly present (Ellis, 2015;Ellis et al, 2010;Morrison et al, 2021;Mottl et al, 2021;Nowosad et al, 2019). Globally, government entities, non-governmental organizations, research groups and academic centers are dedicated to understanding how ecosystem changes affect the climate, environment, and geology of the planet in the Anthropocene (Brondizio et al, 2016;Crona et al, 2021;Delanty, 2018;Keck, 2021;Louro et al, 2021;Rockström et al, 2009;Ryder et al, 2021). In this context, it is imperative to plan, systematize and adapt the use of spaces and natural resources to ensure a healthy environment for present and future generations (Loft et Entering the ecosystem sustainability framework, the literature suggests that socio-ecological models (Balvanera et Maes et al, 2012).…”