Battesti V., Puig Nicolas. (2020). Towards a sonic ecology of urban life : ethnography of sound perception in Cairo. Senses & Society, 15 (2), p. 170-191. ISSN 1745-8927.
Titre du document
Towards a sonic ecology of urban life : ethnography of sound perception in Cairo
Senses & Society, 2020,
15 (2), p. 170-191 ISSN 1745-8927
This study on sound perception in Cairo uses a methodological procedure described in a previous issue of this journal [11(3)]. The procedure involves equipping inhabitants of Cairo, the Egyptian capital, with binaural microphones that record the surrounding urban sounds during one of their daily journeys (without the researcher). Participants later describe and comment on the sounds while listening to the recording. Analysis of this material allowed us first to establish an organized lexicon in categories. We identified a structured "natural language of sounds". The data obtained reveal covert categories that describe three key domains of urban life: the active city, the city in movement, and the relational city. A principal finding is that sound perception systematically relates sounds to their origin, i.e. both the source and its social situation. This socialization of sound led us to the notion of "sound constructs" as products of an immediate socialization of the perception of sound. Experiment clarifies how perception operates in Cairo, notably through territory differentiation using sonic saliences and soundmarks. Finally, we propose a "sonic ecology" of the city: how residents collectively experience the sound dimensions of their urban territory, navigate between very different territories, recognize them and respond to them.
Plan de classement
Urbanisation et sociétés urbaines [102]
;
Société, développement social [106]
