Latinx Sounds Studies, Sonics, and Soundscapes (336-0-1)

Instructors

Audrey Silvestre

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-425: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

This seminar introduces students to the developing field of Latine/a/o Sound Studies through an intersectional and interdisciplinary lens. Drawing on sound studies, queer of color critique, feminist theory, music studies, media studies, and Latina/o studies, we will examine how sound functioned as a site for exploring race, gender, class, sexuality, and power in the US. The course engages topics such as silence, voice, listening, noise, music, and soundscapes to analyze how sonic practices shape cultural identities and political imaginaries. Through close listening, critical reading, and discussion, students will assess how sound both reflects and constructs social relations, while considering how Latine/a/o musicians and thinkers use sound to challenge dominant narratives and articulate alternative ways of being and knowing. By taking an interdisciplinary approach, the seminar invites students to think critically about how sound mediates everyday experience and to explore the intellectual and political questions emerging from contemporary Latine/a/o cultural production.

Learning Objectives

What will the student be expected to know by the end of the class?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Demonstrate familiarity with key concepts, debates, and methodologies in Latine/a/o Sound Studies.
• Analyze how sound, listening, and aural practices are shaped by intersecting structures of race, gender, sexuality, and class.
• Critically engage with cultural works and scholarly texts using frameworks from sound studies, feminist theory, and queer of color critique.
• Apply aural analysis to interpret sonic practices within Latine/a/o communities and cultural production.
• Develop and communicate original arguments through writing, discussion, and a final project that integrates interdisciplinary and intersectional approaches to sound.

Class Materials (Required)

All readings posted on Canvas

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved for Latina and Latino Majors and Minors during pre-registration. Regular registration will be open to all majors/minors after the pre-registration period.