MUSIC 3310

The Sound of Media and the Mediation of Sound

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2017-2018 Catalog.

Our everyday environments are full of sounds. While this statement might seem obvious, the sheer variety of forms and media in which we encounter sonic phenomena bears further scrutiny. What kind of sounds are there in novels? How are sounds visualized in comic books? And, how are the imaginary sounds of the sound of the accelerating spaceship actualized in films? This course will explore different ways of approaching media by focusing on the aspect of "sound" and its representations. Using a wide variety of case studies including the short stories of Kafka, the BBC radio series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Lord of the Rings Online game, and the Studio Ghibli films, we will investigate the production, (re)presentation, translation, and perception of sounds in the twentieth- and twenty-first century media. The ability to read music is not required.

Distribution Category (LA-AS)

When Offered Fall.

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