Mechanical Sound
Technology, Culture, and Public Problems of Noise in theTwentieth Century
$87.63
- Paperback
362 pages
- Release Date
10 February 2017
Summary
Tracing efforts to control unwanted sound-the noise of industry, city traffic, gramophones and radios, and aircraft-from the late nineteenth to the late twentieth century.Since the late nineteenth century, the sounds of technology have been the subject of complaints, regulation, and legislation. By the early 1900s, antinoise leagues in Western Europe and North America had formed to fight noise from factories, steam trains, automobiles, and gramophones, with campaigns featuring conferences, ex…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780262534239 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0262534231 |
| Author: | Karin Bijsterveld |
| Publisher: | MIT Press Ltd |
| Imprint: | MIT Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 362 |
| Release Date: | 10 February 2017 |
| Weight: | 576g |
| Dimensions: | 229mm x 178mm x 16mm |
| Series: | Inside Technology |
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Critics Review
“Complaints about noise are as much a part of modern sound culture as noise itself, and yet we know little of the history of noise. Karin Bijsterveld’s “Mechanical Sound” changes all that; it is unprecedented in topic and scope. At once episodic and ambitious, “Mechanical Sound” places noise as one of those ‘modern problems’ that reformers, legislators, and scholars have tried–unsuccessfully–to control. The book shows how decades of reform, measurement and regulation attempts have resulted in a melange of noise practices and expectations, rather than a fantasyland of peace and harmony. Bijsterveld provides a meaningful alternative to the pieties of noise criticism, whether they come from public health literature or soundscape artists. Because of its range and originality, “Mechanical Sound” will change the way scholars across the disciplines talk about ‘noise’ and ‘silence’.“–Jonathan Sterne, Department of Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University, and author of “The
“Karin Bijsterveld is a pioneer in the new field of sound studies. In “Mechanical Sound” she traces the various national approaches toward dealing with the increasing problems posed by the new technological sounds of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Rich in insights from science studies, and with wonderful period photographs including teams of immaculately dressed British citizens judging aircraft noise in the 1950s, this book teases out the nuances of sound and its effects on why we as a society find it so hard to legislate effectively against noise.“–Trevor Pinch, Science and Technology Studies, Cornell University
“Karin Bijsterveld’s “Mechanical Sound” is an extraordinary achievement, simultaneously an inquiry into our deepest assumptions about the sounds that surround us and an exemplar for future scholars of noise.“–Jon Agar, Senior Lecturer in Science and Technology Studies, University College London
“Karin Bijsterveld’s
About The Author
Karin Bijsterveld
Karin Bijsterveld is Professor of Science, Technology, and Modern Culture at the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Maastricht University, the Netherlands.
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