New class. Still tweaking. Fall 09:
New Phonographers: The Sounds of Documentary

Recently, shows like This American Life and Radio Lab have given rise to a new wave of audiophiles. But a rich history of audio experiments predates these shows, from fireside chats to radio ballads. What is particular about sound and the audio experience that differs from film or print? How can sound artists "choreograph" the physical experience of sound--to make the listening experience private or public? Solitary or communal?

By looking at and listening to the work of Alan Lomax, Foley artists, and phonographers from the burgeoning field of acoustic ecology, students will attempt to answer these questions, and to push the medium. In this course, we will capture new sound and rescue old (archived) sound, with additional considerations of: oral history, vox pops, sound installation, and audio tours. Students will, in the end, work on documentary projects with source material ranging from original interviews to answering machine tapes. These projects may be conceived as radio doc, doc film, or sound installation, depending on students' interests.