Project
We facilitate sound recording classes and training on hand-held recorders to faciliatate people of Limerick in sound collection in and around the city of Limerick. Different groups come together to share their experience and to listen to these sounds. There is discussion, exchange, and inspiration given for futher collecting activities. Documentation activities also take place, where collectors learn how to tag sounds, appreciate the ethics involved in the collecting process, and learn about some basic editing activities in order to clean up the sounds. Most importantly they learn about the city and its sounds through engaging with each other’s creative interventions Sounds are uploaded onto the website. Groups ultimately become self-sustaining in the project, adding new geo-tagged sounds and building up a sonic texture for the on-line map of Limerick. Sounds are part of our daily lives but often don’t always get the same attention as the visual. We can often be unaware of the richness of sounds in a given place and how much they shape our experience of that place. Some sounds are man-made, others naturally occur. Some are mechanical and industrial, others come from different human activities, or from the weather. In all cases, the sounds are part of our every-day life. They are also of their specific ‘time’ (historical moment and location) and by collecting sounds now and for years to come, we will have an archive of sounds from the past and present which will tell us much about life in the city in a given time.
We work with various community, non-for-profit, educational and governmental groups across the city, including the National Learning Network in Raheen, Active Retired Citizen’s Group, and Men’s Shed in St. Mary’s Parish. We plan to expand into schools at primary and secondary levels (working with teachers) as well as with any other city-based group interested in working with us.
We work with various community, non-for-profit, educational and governmental groups across the city, including the National Learning Network in Raheen, Active Retired Citizen’s Group, and Men’s Shed in St. Mary’s Parish. We plan to expand into schools at primary and secondary levels (working with teachers) as well as with any other city-based group interested in working with us.
The pilot project undertaken in 2013 worked very well and we’ve done a number of other facilitations in the intervening period. Now we are ready to expand and offer more continuous offerings to any organisation or community group interested in participating in the generation of soundscapes. We held an international conference in entitled Urban Soundscapes and Critical Citizenship (see www.soundandsociety2014.wordpress.com). We’ve presented at four international conferences, and recent publications include (2015) Journal of Urban Cultural Studies, 2(1 & 2) special section/edition http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-issue,id=2923/ and (forthcoming) ‘Sonic Mapping and Critical Citizenship: Reflections on Limerick Soundscapes’ in Transforming Ethnomusicology – Social Activism and Applied Research, ed. B. Diamond and S. El Castelo-Branco. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Learning
The practicum involves initially planning for the annual roll-out of the project. Then we have students and staff give presentations to members of various organisations across the city to see if people are interested in taking part in the project. Where interest is indicated, the second phase is the offering of workshops on how to use digital recording devices and facilitating sound collection in applied and practical ways. Students deliver workshops and engage in ethnographic documentation supervised by faculty member. Students may also facilitate sounds walks, as guided by faculty members. The third phase focuses on returning to various partners, listening to collected sounds and discussing and uploading the various sounds onto the associated website. Planning for other kinds of outcomes and possibililties for the project will form the final stage.
This is a great way to engage with an applied project that is truly collaborative and that generates tangible outputs while at the same time offering you a chance to engage with the Citizens of Limerick. Citizen-led soundscapes generation is at the cutting edge of citizen engagement and students have the opportunity to work on leading project which may translate into many other contexts and various outputs. The opportunity to dynamically shape the project and to duplicate it elsewhere is entirely feasible.
You will work with the project leaders (Dr. Aileen Dillane, UL and Dr. Tony Langlois, MIC) as well as with other members of the Limerick Soundscapes research cluster and the various community leaders and members of organisations across the city. Primarily, you will be directly engaging with community members and citizens who want to learn about soundscape collection and whom have much to offer in terms of the representation of Limerick through sonic experiences.
The module is evaluated on the basis of a reflexive journal which keeps account of the challenges and opportunities presented in the field as well as on a critical essay, drawing on a variety of literature, to appraise the efficacy of the project as you experience it.
Research
Our sonic environment is a fundamental part of our experience of the city, in the public and private spheres. Engaging with our sonic environment in a shared project of ‘doing’, with people from across a wide range of socio-economic, cultural, ethnic and religious background, creates a space for critical engagment with the urban environment for all citizens of Limerick. Such a project reflects the recent move towards ‘hearing culture’ in Humanities and Social Science scholarship and also engages with issue around social integration and giving voice to those who do not always have one. It also engages with ideas around creative, participatory citizenship, especially in an urban context, given the growing importance of Cities
This project offers a way for people interested in sounds, in the environment, in creativity, and in the place in urban society to engage in a simple and accessible project that helps promote creative, critical citizenship in their city. At a time of increasing migration and shifts in demographics, this project, driven by a shared sense of ‘doing’, promotes interaction, critical pedagogy and mutual understanding
The research will be evaluated qualitatively. Focus groups will be completed with collectors and facilitators.
