Deadline September 25, 2023
(link to submission form)
Sounds fill our lives, even if we don’t realize them or want to tune them out. They can be met as an annoyance, something forgettable, or taken-for-granted place markers; or they can be aesthetic productions, “soundtracks of our lives,” and things we long for. In their ever-presence, what kind of social, political, and cultural realities do they point to? What do the ways in which we navigate, avoid, or seek sounds tell us about ourselves? What does it mean to “sound queer” in different contexts? How do we organize ourselves around sounds? How do we use them to reproduce or threaten social norms, and how might sound queer space?
In this next issue, we turn to sound as a material and aesthetic entity, and also a metaphorical tool to help us re-approach and expand upon themes we often mediate on. We also hope to expand how we conceptualize our issues to include more sonic and audiovisual submissions, in addition to our usual focus on the visual and written.
“sound itself”
What tools does sound—as something sensible, a series of waves – give us to understand the reality around us and ourselves? In what ways do different elements of sound—its rhythm, texture, melody, etc.—produce or transform the spaces we move through and occupy, and also how we do so? What does sound’s ability to bleed into queer spaces, or to impose itself upon us, suggest about the porous nature of boundaries and barriers? How can these be manipulated or stretched across time and space? How do glitches or loops allow us to think about time in new ways? How do we navigate a world devoid of sound—whether due to active silencing of the world, deafness, or hearing loss—and how does this challenge assumptions we make about the impacts of sound on our lives?
sound intimacies
Sound can be experienced with intimacy, disgust, fear, and excitement. What is it about ASMR—or the sound of intimate whispers or moans—that produces such bodily responses? How do we hear and feel our own voices and those around us? What connection do we make between those voices and our sense of self, particularly for those who identify as queer or non-normative in some way? What sounds haunt us or make us long for something different? What does it mean to produce sounds or withhold them? How does sound speak to our souls or affect our mental frequencies?
sound communities, sound publics
What role does sound play in ritual and organizing communities, and how can it mobilize us toward “love or war”? How do the sound and vibrations of various sounds come into harmony or dissonance with collectives (communities, groups, etc.) and how do collectives attune themselves to or in opposition to those sounds? What are the effects of particular movements – 90s pop arabi, punk, tarab, electronic, funk – for listeners, followers, or crowds?
sound politics
What are the politics of determining what is noise or music, nuisance or harmony, exotic or traditional, civilized or unorganized? In what ways do analogies of the voice relate to queer struggles and social movements? How do the sounds and chants of queer movements echo through time, and how are they repurposed? How does the political context motivate and constrain the production of sound and music?
The deadline to submit the concept note is: September 25, 2023