Course detail

Sound, Space and Power

FaVU-2ZPMAcad. year: 2026/2027

The course looks at sound from two different but connected viewpoints: as a physical force and as a political instrument of power, control, and resistance. Students will trace the history of the weaponisation of listening and sound-making, from Cold War espionage technologies and acoustic crowd-control weapons to the sound of drones over civilian areas.

The course also examines how sound shapes public spaces and everyday experiences, affects health, and whose agenda the creation of these spaces serves. It takes a critical look at established concepts in sound studies, contrasting the Eurocentric tradition of listening with decolonial perspectives.

The course includes two guest lectures and a week dedicated to group reading and reflection on key texts.

 

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

3

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

doc. MgA. Filip Cenek

Department

Department of Audiovisual Technology (KAT)

Entry knowledge

Knowledge of the key concepts and terminology discussed in the recommended reading material would be an advantage.

 

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

The course is taught online. Attendance is mandatory, with up to two unexcused absences permitted. Links to individual lectures will be provided to students at the beginning of the semester.

Credit is awarded based on the following criteria:

  • Active participation in lessons (up to two unexcused absences are allowed).
  • Completion of ongoing seminar assignments.
  • Submission of a final seminar paper or, if applicable, a project (more details will be provided at the beginning of the semester).
 

Aims

The course aims to cultivate students' critical thinking on the relationship between sound, listening and their instrumentalisation in the context of contemporary politics of power. Drawing on expertise from artistic practice, acoustic ecology, media theory, media archaeology and postcolonial studies, the course positions sound as both an aesthetic phenomenon and an instrument of power, control and resistance.

Students will be introduced to the basics of understanding and analysing sound as both a physical force and a political construct, and they will learn to situate its use within historical and geopolitical contexts, as well as to critically reflect on established concepts and categories in the field of sound studies. The course also promotes an interdisciplinary approach to artistic research, developing the ability to work with specialised literature.

 

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

Attali, J. (1985). Noise: The Political Economy of Music. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press. Available at: https://monoskop.org/images/6/67/Attali_Jacques_Noise_The_Political_Economy_of_Music.pdf. (EN)
Goodman, S. (2010). Sonic warfare: sound, affect, and the ecology of fear. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. Available at: https://archive.org/details/3goodmannstevesonicwarfare/mode/2up (EN)
Schafer, R.M. (1994). The soundscape: the tuning of the world. Rochester, Vermont: Destiny Books, United States. Available at: https://monoskop.org/images/d/d4/Schafer_R_Murray_The_Soundscape_Our_Sonic_Environment_and_the_Tuning_of_the_World_1994.pdf. (EN)

Recommended reading

Barton, J., Goodman, S. and Kronic, M.B. (2024). Sonic faction. Falmouth, United Kingdom: Urbanomic. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. (EN)
Durham: Duke University Press. (EN)
Feld, S. (2015). Acoustemology. In: Novak, D. and Sakakeeny, M. (eds.). Keywords in Sound. Duke University Press, pp.12–21. (EN)
Gallagher, M., Kanngieser, A. and Prior, J. (2016). Listening geographies: Landscape, affect and geotechnologies. Progress in Human Geography, 41(5), pp.618–637. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0309132516652952. (EN)
Goodman, S., Heys, E. and Ikoniadou, E. (2019). Unsound: undead. Falmouth, United Kingdom: Urbanomic. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. (EN)
Haraway, D. (1988). Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective. Feminist Studies, 14(3), pp.575–599. (EN)
Chattopadhyay, B. (2023). Co-listening: Theory and Practice. In: LaBelle, B. (ed.). (EN)
Ingold, T. (2007). Against soundscape. In: Carlyle, A. (ed.). Autumn leaves: sound and the environment in artistic practice. Double Entendre, Paris, pp.10–13. (EN)
Kelman, A. (2010). Rethinking the Soundscape: A Critical Genealogy of a Key Term in Sound Studies. Senses & Society, 5(2), pp.212–234. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/27368972/Rethinking_the_Soundscape_A_Critical_Gene alogy_of_a_Key_Term_in_Sound_Studies. (EN)
Mishlawi, N. (2012). Dissonance and urban discord. The New Soundtrack, 2(2), pp.159–167. Available at: https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/sound.2012.0036. (EN)
Robinson, D. (2020). Hungry listening: resonant theory for indigenous sound studies. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press. (EN)
Sterne, J. (2003). The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction. (EN)
The Listening Biennial Reader. Berlin: Errant Bodies Press, pp.147–157. (EN)
Wright, M.P. (2022). Listening after nature: field recording, ecology, critical practice. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. (EN)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme VUM_M Master's 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
  • Programme FAAD Master's 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
    2 year of study, summer semester, elective
  • Programme ZST-BX Bachelor's 1 year of study, summer semester, elective
  • Programme ZST-NX Master's 1 year of study, summer semester, elective

Type of course unit

 

Seminar

26 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. MgA. Filip Cenek

Individual preparation - working on the assigned tasks

24 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. MgA. Filip Cenek

Individual preparation for an ending of the course

14 hours, compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

doc. MgA. Filip Cenek