
Sound Affects
A User's Guide
Bloomsbury Academic USA (Publisher)
Published on 25. July 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
296 pages
978-1-5013-8892-7 (ISBN)
Description
Sound Affects: A User's Guide is a collection of sonically-charged concepts ranging from those felt, 'heard' and repeated (silence, the oriental riff, shuffle), to the vocal (whispers, sing, the disembodied voice), to sounds at the threshold (tin/ny, thump, buzz) to sounds beyond the limits of audibility (inaudible tremors, distortion, sub-bass). Sound Affects invites the reader to reflect on the ways that sounds produce affects and the ways that affects can operate as sound.
Each of the entries develops a particular perspective on sound and affect through a close analysis of audiovisual and/or sonic objects. The objects chosen not only illustrate the concept in question but also demonstrate how the object encourages us to rethink the relationships between sounds and affects. Influenced by the sound theory of Eugenie Brinkema (2011), the concepts of Sound Affects plot the shift in volume from silence that opens up a space to be heard to the audibly near, from the audibly near to sounds beyond the limits of audibility. Sound Affects is an intellectual adventure for those who theorize and listen. The book can also be enjoyed as a narrative of sounds, its absences and its shifting intensities.
Each of the entries develops a particular perspective on sound and affect through a close analysis of audiovisual and/or sonic objects. The objects chosen not only illustrate the concept in question but also demonstrate how the object encourages us to rethink the relationships between sounds and affects. Influenced by the sound theory of Eugenie Brinkema (2011), the concepts of Sound Affects plot the shift in volume from silence that opens up a space to be heard to the audibly near, from the audibly near to sounds beyond the limits of audibility. Sound Affects is an intellectual adventure for those who theorize and listen. The book can also be enjoyed as a narrative of sounds, its absences and its shifting intensities.
Reviews / Votes
We live in a saturated sonic envirornment. Noise is everywhere; and even at the extreme of absence, "silence is a rhythm too" (as the Slits once sang). Yet we rarely pay attention to the soundscape that accompanies us at all times. Sound Affects rectifies this omission, with seventeen essays about sound and how it touches and moves us. Topics range from rapping by Kanye West, to the noises made by urban traffic, to electronic distortions broadcast through gigantic speakers, to the barely audible squishes of worms crawling through the soil. All in all, this book brings us back to a heightened awareness of those aspects of existence that we tend, all too easily, to tune out. * Steven Shaviro, DeRoy Professor of English, Wayne State University, USA * As it heeds paradoxical challenges in addressing sensorial - or even "sensaural" - experiences that defy conventional representation and meaning, Sound Affects embraces multiple approaches to sound, affect and sound affect through its volume of rich and varied voices. Vitally, Sound Affects promotes an ethics of listening that fundamentally and ontologically examines our too human world. * Nadine Boljkovac, Screen Theorist and Assistant Professor in Film Studies, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
15 bw illus; 12 color illus
Dimensions
Height: 214 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
380 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5013-8892-7 (9781501388927)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/2022
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic USA
€33.49
Available for download

E-Book
12/2022
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic USA
€33.49
Available for download
Persons
Sharon Jane Mee is Adjunct Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of New South Wales, Australia.
Luke Robinson is a PhD candidate and a casual academic in the School of Arts and Media, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Luke Robinson is a PhD candidate and a casual academic in the School of Arts and Media, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Editor
University of New South Wales, Australia
University of New South Wales, Australia
Content
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgements
The Clatter and Clang of Sound Affects
Sharon Jane Mee (University of New South Wales, Australia) and Luke Robinson (University of New South Wales, Australia)
Part 1: Start, Stop, Repeat
Chapter 1. Silence
Sandra Kazlauskaite (University of Lincoln, UK)
Chapter 2. Shuffle
Jim Drobnick (OCAD University, Canada) and Jennifer Fisher (York University, Canada)
Chapter 3. Oriental Riff
Runchao Liu (University of Denver, USA)
Part 2: Voices and Vocals
Chapter 4. aa ee ii oo uuuuu
Rachel Shearer (Te Wananga Aronui o Tamaki Makau Rau/Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa New Zealand)
Chapter 5. Sympathetic Response
Charlotte Eubanks (Pennsylvania State University, USA)
Chapter 6. Whispers
Christian de Mouilpied Sancto (University of Rochester, USA)
Chapter 7. Sing
Katherine Nolan (Technological University Dublin, Ireland)
Chapter 8. The Disembodied Voice
Julius Greve (University of Oldenburg, Germany)
Part 3: Threshold Sounds
Chapter 9. Tin/ny
Rob Garbutt (Southern Cross University, Australia)
Chapter 10. Vroom
Andrija Filipovic (Singidunum University, Serbia)
Chapter 11. Thump
Andrea Avidad (New York University, USA)
Chapter 12: Buzz
Sharon Jane Mee (University of New South Wales, Australia)
Part 4: Beyond Audibility
Chapter 13: Inaudible Tremors
Luke Robinson (University of New South Wales, Australia)
Chapter 14: Distortion
Greg Hainge (University of Queensland, Australia)
Chapter 15. Feedback
Manuel 'Mandel' CabreraJr. (Yonsei University, South Korea)
Chapter 16. Sub-bass
Aidan Delaney (Middlesex University, UK)
Chapter 17. Squish, Squelch, Shlshlshlurpppp
Norie Neumark (Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne and La Trobe University, Australia)
Bibliography
Mediography
Contributors
Index
Acknowledgements
The Clatter and Clang of Sound Affects
Sharon Jane Mee (University of New South Wales, Australia) and Luke Robinson (University of New South Wales, Australia)
Part 1: Start, Stop, Repeat
Chapter 1. Silence
Sandra Kazlauskaite (University of Lincoln, UK)
Chapter 2. Shuffle
Jim Drobnick (OCAD University, Canada) and Jennifer Fisher (York University, Canada)
Chapter 3. Oriental Riff
Runchao Liu (University of Denver, USA)
Part 2: Voices and Vocals
Chapter 4. aa ee ii oo uuuuu
Rachel Shearer (Te Wananga Aronui o Tamaki Makau Rau/Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa New Zealand)
Chapter 5. Sympathetic Response
Charlotte Eubanks (Pennsylvania State University, USA)
Chapter 6. Whispers
Christian de Mouilpied Sancto (University of Rochester, USA)
Chapter 7. Sing
Katherine Nolan (Technological University Dublin, Ireland)
Chapter 8. The Disembodied Voice
Julius Greve (University of Oldenburg, Germany)
Part 3: Threshold Sounds
Chapter 9. Tin/ny
Rob Garbutt (Southern Cross University, Australia)
Chapter 10. Vroom
Andrija Filipovic (Singidunum University, Serbia)
Chapter 11. Thump
Andrea Avidad (New York University, USA)
Chapter 12: Buzz
Sharon Jane Mee (University of New South Wales, Australia)
Part 4: Beyond Audibility
Chapter 13: Inaudible Tremors
Luke Robinson (University of New South Wales, Australia)
Chapter 14: Distortion
Greg Hainge (University of Queensland, Australia)
Chapter 15. Feedback
Manuel 'Mandel' CabreraJr. (Yonsei University, South Korea)
Chapter 16. Sub-bass
Aidan Delaney (Middlesex University, UK)
Chapter 17. Squish, Squelch, Shlshlshlurpppp
Norie Neumark (Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne and La Trobe University, Australia)
Bibliography
Mediography
Contributors
Index