Nina Gram : Sound Mobilization in Urban Space
My PhD thesis, entitled Sound Mobilization in Urban Space, examines the connection between ‘the good sound’ and ‘the good experience’. Urban space is the empirical setting for my project as I examine the function of sound in relation to the good urban experience. I will look at this connection between sound and experience from a new perspective focusing on the mobile and mobilizing sound. These terms indicate that I am working with mobile sound media and they express my interest in the alleged ability of sound to emotionally, spiritually and perhaps even physically move the listener.
R. Murray Schafer’s concept of the soundscape is central to my project. A soundscape refers to any sound milieu, whether the ‘natural’ sounds of the city or a composed musical work. I will, however, use this term critically, as the particular listening situation using mobile sound media seems to employ more than one soundscape – namely, the urban soundscape and the mobile, private soundtrack. It is my thesis that the voice of the city will not be completely ignored even though the listener tries to drown it with mobile sound media. At some point a siren or a church bell will demand the attention of the listener, thus pulling him away from his private soundscape. This interruption can result in a fusion of or a conflict between the private and the public soundscape.
The project is theoretically based on Michael Bull’s research on iPodisation. Through interviews with iPod users, he has proven how mobile sound media is used to intensify, personalize and improve the urban experience. With inspiration from Bull’s research, I base my project on empirical research as well. In addition to interviews with users of mobile sound media, I will conduct phenomenological analyses of soundscapes from different urban spaces. This musicological approach should help to identify the characteristics of the sounds and thus shed light on their mobilizing abilities. Furthermore, I will study the characteristics of the urban experience ‘mobilized’ by sound; tentatively using Ernst Bloch’s notion of utopia, I will examine whether an urban experience based partly on constructed sensory inputs can be understood as somewhat illusory and utopian. Finally, I will relate my reflections and results to the notion of ‘the good experience’, which is one of the focal points of the audiovisual research group.
Nina Gram is currently working on her PhD project, entitled Sound Mobilization in Urban Space . She holds an MA in Musicology and Aesthetics and Culture from Aarhus University. In her Master’s studies she focussed primarily on sound as a social phenomenon, and this interest resulted in a Master’s thesis on sound in cafés, with emphasis on the way sound influences our experience in public spaces like the café. Her PhD project further develops this area of study by examining how sound influences our experiences of urban space.
Nina Gram has worked in the areas of PR and communication, handling written and verbal contact with the media.
