ACOUSMATIC LISTENING AND A CRITICAL AWARENESS OF PLACE

Abstract

The akousmatikoi (ἀκουσματικοί) were the probationary pupils of the philosopher Pythagoras. Akousmatikoi were required to sit in silence while Pythagoras delivered his lecture from behind a screen or curtain. In the “Pythagorean pedagogy, [...] the master provided lessons to his students from behind draped material in order to not distract from the voice and to lend it a rather divine authority” (Pettman, 2011, p. 142). Contemporary communication research has disproven this assumption; body language and eye contact inflect communication, carry important information, and assist in understanding. We would never rob a pupil of visual information on the grounds that it distracts from auditory information. But in this peculiar Pythagorean practice, there are lessons to be learned for listening research. Sound and auditory environment researcher Murray Schaeffer used it as metaphor, inspiring what he calls “acousmatique,” or acousmatic, listening. Below, I will describe the “acousmatic situations” that typify everyday life. Then, I will describe “acousmatic listening” as an intentional practice, one that will enable critical reflection on listening. Finally, I will point toward an increased awareness of place that follows from acousmatic listening, an increased awareness of place that inspires this collection of reflections on ethics, listening and place.