We hereby invite you to participate in the one-day seminar at Aarhus University on Sonic Citizenship. 

• Participation is free but you need to sign up here
  Deadline registration: November 9 at noon.
• Programme

At this seminar, we will discuss "sonic citizenship" as a concept that explores the many ways in which we shape the aural background of each other within the rhythms of our daily lives. We aim to explore how citizenship is both practiced and maintained through sonic activities.

Given the trans-liminal nature of sound, the auditory boundaries between the private and the public, as well as between the individual and the community, are continuously transcended.

On one hand, this enables us to perceive the social structures in which we participate through processes like overhearing and attentive listening.

On the other hand, it also has the potential to give rise to conflicts, such as eavesdropping, noisy behavior, and auditory oppression. In either case, the concept of sonic citizenship opens up a discussion about how we engage with and adapt to our communities in an auditory sense. This includes questions about who within the community holds the privilege to raise their voice (to speak), the right to be heard (to be listened to), and how we, through negotiation and regulation, harmonize with each other. We also explore the idea of "the other" in sonic terms—who do we hear as "the other"? Who qualifies as a sonic citizen, and who is displaced sonically, akin to sonic refugees?

During the seminar, researchers from the Center of Sound Studies at Aarhus University will address the concept of sonic citizenship from various perspectives, including sociology, musicology, anthropology, post-phenomenology, aesthetics, and feminist studies.

The keynote speakers for this event are Sandra Lori Petersen and Lise-Lotte Stenfeldt, Gehl Architects.

The seminar was also supported by the Environmental Media and Aesthetics research program.