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Article

Open Access

Music and Performance as Sonic Acts of Political Struggle; Counter-Political Soundscapes in Urban Realm

Author(s)

Konca Saher, Murat Cetin

Full-Text PDF Download XML 1708 Views

DOI:10.17265/2159-5526/2016.06.004

Affiliation(s)

Kadir Has University, Istanbul, Turkey

ABSTRACT

The paper takes the relation between soundscapes and power struggles as its problem area and focuses on the role of music that is performed in public protests. It argues that music and street performances are conceived and therefore utilised as sonic acts of political struggle in urban realm. Starting with a general understanding of hearing mechanisms, the study elucidates the relationships among territoriality of soundscape, identity construction, social segregation and polarisation, and finally, power struggle. Within the framework of the intersection area of these concepts, the paper discusses the processes of politisation of soundscape through music as a form of protest event that is performed in public realm. Throughout the paper, it is focused on the significant cases of public protests as well as political events that occured in public space. The main emphasis is on the use of sound technologies to impose power on masses of people. The paper tackles the question of how the salient characteristics of soundscape are sonically adopted as means for counter-political acts in public realm.

KEYWORDS

Politics of sound, urban acoustics, soundscape

Cite this paper

Sociology Study, June 2016, Vol. 6, No. 6, 378-391

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