Earshot: Perspectives on Sound awakens an understanding of the
decisive role that sound has played in history and culture.
Although beginning with reference to antiquity, the primary focus is the
changing status of sound and hearing in Western culture over the last
six hundred years, covering the transition from the medieval period to
the contemporary world. Since mythic times, sound has been an essential
element in the formation of belief systems, personal and community
identities and the negotiations between them. The varied case studies
included in the book cover major reference points in the changing
politics of sound, particularly in relation to the status of the other
major conduit of social transactions, vision.
Earshot is not a work of cultural theory but is anchored in social
practices and material culture and is therefore a valuable resource for
conveying sound to both undergraduate students as well as the general
reader.