Ways of Knowing: A Sonic Celebration of the Humanities

For one hour you are going to sit in total darkness, surrounded by loudspeakers, and take a sonic trip with fellow members of the academic community. You’ll hear the vibrations of the Golden Gate Bridge, footsteps of ants, recordings made a century ago, and silence turned into music. You’ll be transported to 1930s Berlin, up to the ionosphere, under a sand dune, and into the middle of a choir singing in a church built in the 6th century. You’ll hear ideas, essays, books, theories, contemporary research, all translated into soundscapes that challenge you to rethink the world through your ears instead of your eyes…and ultimately to reconnect with what makes academic inquiry so meaningful.

The hosts, Chris Hoff and Sam Harnett, are co-creators of The World According to Sound, an audio project about the power of attentive listening. They co-produce Ways of Knowing, a podcast series made in partnership with academic institutions like Johns Hopkins, UChicago, and The University of Washington. They’ve published academic papers; spent a semester at Cornell as Practitioners-in-Residence; and performed, guest lectured, and done workshops at more than 25 universities. They previously worked in public radio, where their reporting won two Edward R. Murrow Awards and was featured regularly on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Science Friday, and other nationally-syndicated programs.

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Host or Publisher UAH Humanities Center