Social Science
Sound and visual media
This assignment takes the idea of “cultural work” in a rather narrow sense, and as such is
not intended to cover “everyday” types of cultural experiences such as sitting in coffee
shops, shopping malls, or public transit.
Some key questions to keep in mind:
NOTE: this is NOT a list of questions designed for you to answer individually and
completely. Some questions might not be applicable to your own event experience
1. What is the event you’re writing about? (clearly identify it)
2. Where and when did the event take place? Why might the space your experience is
taking place sound the way it does? is there something about the specific time your
event is happening that lends to its particular aurality?
3. Now that the lockdowns associated with COVID have generally been lifted here in
Toronto, how are you experiencing the sound of visual events? Did you do
anything similar during the COVID lockdowns? What was the aural context of that
event like under those conditions? (Earlier version: Describe and analyze the aural
context the event/work/etc. is embedded in.) This means that you are not to focus
on the sound that is actually part of the work (although this shouldn’t be
completely ignored) or event you are exploring (e.g. a movie or TV show
soundtrack, the music of the musical performance, etc.) but to pay more attention
to the sounds that surround the event (e.g. the sound of the audience, the sound
of the space itself, etc.).
4. What would the gallery/theater/cinema/public space sound like before, during or
after a visual art exhibition/play/movie/experience?)
5. Are there related cultural or artistic practices that your event/artwork/etc. that might
relate to or somehow inform the nature of its aurality?
6. Are there historical practices, or shifts in historical practices, which might inform
the aurality of this experience?
7. What are the social or cultural norms that help produce the ideas of silence, noise
or music that might be in play? How does the expected or intended experience of
your chosen subject implicitly draw upon these norms? Does it challenge them in
any way?
8. New question: Has the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the way you hear or experience of this event? Do you recall your pre-pandemic experiences of similar events?
