Sounds of Modern History Auditory Cultures in 19th- and 20th-Century Europe [Hardcover]

Long ignored by scholars in the humanities, sound has just begun to take its place as an important object of study in the last few years. Since the late 19th century, there has been a paradigmatic shift in auditory cultures and practices in European societies. This change was brought about by modern phenomena such as urbanization, industrialization and mechanization, the rise of modern sciences, and of course the emergence of new sound recording and transmission media. This book contributes to our understanding of modern European history through the lens of sound by examining diverse subjects such as performed and recorded music, auditory technologies like the telephone and stethoscope, and the ambient noise of the city.

The decentring of music from the privileged site at which questions about listening are asked makes room for broader questions about the relationship between sound and culture. By thinking about sonic practices as a means of answering larger historical and cultural questions the volume challenges the narrower theoretical approaches to sound often taken in the field of sound studies.? Contemporary European History

&this highly readable and well-sequenced text synthesises key research on the history of sound, bringing the work of the burgeoning fields seminal figures into dialogue with that of emerging scholars of the history of European sound cultures.? Melbourne Historical Journal

As a whole, this collection provides a fine introduction to Sound Studies for historians of modern Europe and, at the same time, contributes new material to the growing body of work in this field. The collective work on World War I is perhaps the most original and compelling, but there is excellent scholarship throughout.? German History

&presents an excellent contribution to the social studies of sound...In contrast to the more common ocular-centricity of tlSe