Description
- Abstract:
- Located at the intersections of music studies, critical theory, and cultural studies, this interdisciplinary project includes a theoretical framework and musical composition centered around oral testimonies and listening practices. Focused on two case studies —Korey Wise’s coerced confession from 1989 and selected voluntary testimonies by Israel Defense Force veterans from Breaking the Silence’s archive— in the written dissertation, I introduce a new methodology for the transcription of oral testimonies that brings the testifying subjects’ voices onto the page. Differing from common transcriptions of testimonies, this innovative methodology includes and even highlights vocalized elements that were enunciated by the subject, even if they have no semantic value. My approach to oral testimonies shows that considering vocality is crucial for understanding the testimony and the value that listening can bring into fights for justice and decoloniality. I argue that attentiveness to vocality provides access to the mental state of the testifying subject and their being, which is essential to our engagement with the testimony. The decision to study testimonies collected under different circumstances and stemming from different sociocultural contexts highlights the complex nuances of listening, our relationship to it and to the sensation of ‘being heard,’ and the various ways listening can be practiced. Additionally, Listening for More aims to ground listening’s viability as an interdisciplinary framework that exceeds the realms of music and sound studies. Lastly, the project amplifies the devastating implications of mal-listening practices for those who wish to be heard, raising awareness and concern about the potential harm such practices may cause. The project's compositional element, The Right Not (To Be), is a fixed-media multichannel composition made in collaboration with Breaking the Silence. The piece features the voices of Israel Defense Forces veterans who work with the organization. In this piece, I explore the relationship between belonging and historical narratives (or myths) that form a collective identity and highlight the difficulty of cultivating a political morality opposed to the status quo imposed by one’s state.
- Notes:
- Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brown University, 2026
Citation
Gilboa, Lee,
"Listening for More: A Study of Heardness"
(2026).
Computer Music and Multimedia Composition Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:yuqxrjeg/
Relations
Collection:
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Computer Music and Multimedia Composition Theses and Dissertations
Theses and Dissertations for the Computer Music and Multimedia Composition department....