Musicological Topic with Performance and Production

What is a voice, and what does its sound convey? What are the means by which we recognize and distinguish between individual voices? What can be made of our inclination to draw conclusions about a person’s identity and body based on the sound of their voice? In other words, how does the voice figure in our perception of gender, sexuality, race, class, nationality, age, ability, etc.? How does the voice shape our perception of emotion, authenticity, and credibility in a speaker or singer? How does technology unsettle and/or reinforce some of these associations and essentialisms? Can a voice exist and signify without sound? This course introduces the interdisciplinary field of voice studies by exploring the nature and politics of vocality in diverse cultural and musical contexts, while rethinking basic assumptions about the voice, its implicit role in systems of power, and its foundational role in music.

Key Topics of Investigation:

• The voice as metaphor for subjectivity, agency, collectivity, and political power
• The role of the voice in the socio-cultural construction and perception of identity and difference
• The role of voice in the perception of emotional, psychological, and bodily states
• The technological mediation of voice
• Non-hegemonic perspectives including disabled, deaf, trans, and decolonial vocalities