- 275 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
Is there an acoustical equivalent to Walter Benjamin's idea of the optical unconscious? In the 1930s, Benjamin was interested in how visual media expand our optical perception: the invention of the camera allowed us to see images and details that we could not consciously perceive before. This study argues that Benjamin was also concerned with how acoustical media allow us to "hear otherwise," that is, to listen to sound structures previously lost to the naked ear. Crucially, they help sensitize us to the discursive sonority of words, which Benjamin was already alluding to in his autobiographical work. In five chapters that range in scope from Tieck's Blonde Eckbert, which Benjamin once called his locus classicus of his theory of forgetting, to Alexander Kluge's films and short texts, where he develops what he calls "sound perspectives," this monograph discusses how the acoustical unconscious enriches our understanding of different media, from the written word to radio and film. As the first book-length study of Benjamin's linguistic, cultural-historical, and media-theoretical reflections on sound, this book will be particularly relevant to students and scholars of both German studies and sound studies.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, weâve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere â even offline. Perfect for commutes or when youâre on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access The Acoustical Unconscious by Robert Ryder in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & German Literary Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction: Hearing Otherwise
- 1âWalter Benjaminâs Shell-Shock: Sounding the Acoustical Unconscious
- 2âOf Birds and Barks: Listening in on the Forgotten in Freud, Benjamin, and Tieck
- 3âVoices Carry: Benjamin and Arnheim on Radio
- 4âGlimpsing the World through Our Ears: GĂźnter Eich and the Acoustical Unconscious
- 5âClatter in Kracauer and Kluge: Politicizing the Acoustical Unconscious
- Conclusion: Toward a Genealogy of the Acoustical Unconscious
- Index