Reflection 3- Sound Studies

From meeting with Gettysburg college’s Digital Humanities program and discussing Digital Humanities with visiting professors, I have begun to think of how my interests fit into the larger field.  I have recently learned about the burgeoning field of “sound studies” from a few professors.   Sound Studies is an interdisciplinary field which looks at the many different ways sound has differed throughout history through two main approaches: the cultural anthropological approach and the scientific technological studies approach.  I think my project fits well into this field because it examines the progression of synthesized sounds throughout the 20th century and uses both an anthropological lens and a technological one in the presentation of its content.

One of the visiting professors mentioned a growing interest in initiatives to archive sound as cultural history, just as one would with literature or visual art.  I am going to do more research into this field to see if it could be a match for me in future years.  Learning about the field of Sound Studies has also stressed the importance of continuing with my project after the official deadline for the program by keeping it up to date as sound slowly but inevitable evolves over time.