Hear We Are: Investigating Sonic Inequality within Bowling Green, Ohio

Author(s)

Declan WicksFollow

Abstract

Using the framework of Steven Feld’s “acoustemology,” Hear We Are examines the sonic structures of Bowling Green and their effects on, and representation of, diverse communities within Bowling Green. Through modeling the sonic landscape of Bowling Green, Ohio in relation to aggregated census data, Hear We Are explores how the city of Bowling Green has been spatially and sonically organized – whether along lines of class, race, or education. Ultimately, Hear We Are offers a narrative of sound within Bowling Green while reflecting on the consequences of living within different soundscapes, i.e., sonic inequality

Using the theoretical framework of placemaking outlined by Ronald Lee Fleming, Hear We Are further engages with the community through a series of installations that attempt to provide an impetus for engaging local community members in further critical thinking about the connections between space, sound, and identity. Based on the author’s experience of living within in Bowling Green for two decades, I suggest that Bowling Green needs creative and artistic locations around the city that complicate and dissect the often-unquestioned assumption that soundscapes across Bowling Green are equitable and equally experienced.

Department

Musicology/Composition/Theory

Major

International Studies

First Advisor

Dr. Sidra Lawrence

First Advisor Department

Musicology/Composition/Theory

Second Advisor

Dr. Clayton Rosati

Second Advisor Department

Telecommunication

Publication Date

Spring 4-30-2018

Repository Citation

Wicks, Declan, "Hear We Are: Investigating Sonic Inequality within Bowling Green, Ohio" (2018). Honors Projects. 338.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/honorsprojects/338