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Urban Justice Lab: Sound, Music, Public Space (ARCH 6319, ART 6419, ENGL 6919, MUSIC 6819, PMA 6819, SHUM 6819)
Tuesdays 11:15–1:45p.m.
Course Instructors: Keith Obadike, Professor in Art; and Mendi Obadike, Professor in Performing and Media Arts.
This Urban Justice Lab introduces Phase III of Cornell's Mellon Collaborative Studies in Architecture, Urbanism, and the Humanities.
Course Description:
What do we learn when we turn an ear to the commons? Who determines what sounds are desirable or undesirable in a community and what are the stakes of that negotiation when it comes to public space? This graduate seminar will study the ways that individuals and communities use sound and music to self-identify, claim space, and shape their public spaces. We will engage the work of artists who have called our attention to the social aspects of listening.
We will listen to public art projects, films, concerts, field recordings, installations, informal sonic practices, and political interventions as we read about the contested control of public space. We will also conduct site visits and have dialogues with visiting artists who engage listening in the negotiation of public space. Students will be expected to respond to material in class with their own creative works.