Sonic thinking, as conceptualized in contemporary sound studies, moves the thinker beyond text: it engages spaces, bodies and the relations between sounding and listening agents as material and corporeal, and often generates meaning that is not necessarily semiotic. This course asks what “reading” and, in extension, “writing” could mean when thinking through and with sound. How can I write like a listening relationship sounds? How can knowledge felt in a listening body translate into a sentence? What other forms, what other concepts of knowing, learning and theorizing – apart from reading and writing “about” a topic – can sounding and listening generate? Which formats – other than text – can I use to communicate this meaning in an academic setting?

We will approach these questions by collectively performing scores, listening to audio papers, experimenting with transcription, listening to visual materials, engaging with protocols and (yes, also) by reading and discussing texts. A workshop with Serena Lee (serenalee.com) will reflect on the technology of words, and the resonances between listening, reading, and writing with the whole body. Unpacking cosmological and cultural assumptions of meaning-making, we will play with language as an embodied practice, making space for articulation and that which escapes it. 

Attendance is mandatory. I expect participation in the classroom activities (performing scores, listening and movement exercises, discussions). There will be a reading assignment to complete before most of the dates, i.e., you will have to read a text at home and will be expected to be able to discuss it at length in class. I’ll ask you to complete a number of short written assignments over the course of the term, which you will bring to class to get feedback on. You will write these assignments both in the classroom and at home; and you might be both working alone and collaborating with your peers. Grades will be calculated according to: participation in class (especially in workshops/group discussions), your portfolio (=collection of all written assignments, to be handed in by the end of the term), and a reflective oral or written exam in June 2026.

Classroom language is English, the texts you'll read in preparation are not always available in German translation. If you feel more comfortable speaking German in classroom discussions, please don't hesitate to register, we'll find a way to make it work.